Learning from Katrina

I was reading the latest series of opinion articles in this month's NEJM when i came across experiences of medical staff during the gushing winds and pouring water of hurricane Katrina. Ruth Breggren M.D. writes about the experience in these words

I was never afraid of wind, water, fire, hunger, or disease. My moments of fear came when I was confronted by agitated, fearful human beings bearing firearms. My husband was exposed to sniper fire twice while helping to evacuate the emergency-room dock. People with guns shut down an entire hospital evacuation for many hours. The real Katrina disaster was not created by the elements but by a society whose fabric had been torn asunder by inequality, lack of education, and the inexplicable conviction that we should all have access to weapons that kill.
   In the end, we were kicked off the ward by armed men and shouted at by people herding us with bullhorns as they shoved bound, violent psychiatric patients past us on gurneys in the dark, fetid hallway, nearly knocking us to the ground. We were foisted onto boats by rough game wardens oblivious to our requests to travel together. After leaping into the swamp boats, we were rushed by armed guards to an empty helicopter pad, where we missed our would-be rescuers by minutes. We were then herded onto buses and repeatedly confronted by police, who insisted that we were not allowed at the airport. After several frantic cell-phone calls, our mostly intact group was directed to an unsecured hangar on the airfield to wait. Through the night, lying on the tarmac by the airstrip, I reflected on the reasons for our survival.

You can read the whole article here.