Pictures of New Orleans show the city battered and buffered today.
No question, Hurricane Katrina has given New Orleans a terrible thrashing,
but that said...
Katrina did jog slightly east just before hitting land,
and that spared New Orleans.
This was not the apocalyptic hurricane that so many had feared.
What was the mood after that first day?
The mood? Well, the mood was great.
Most of the hurricane, worst of the hurricane missed the city,
and... and we were alive.
You can't imagine what it was like to have been in the hospital.
Middle of the night, windows shattering, power goes out.
Then the next day, generators had kicked in,
and the sky had cleared up.
Sun was out.
Everybody was...
They were happy and relieved and thankful.
Oh!
Maybe a little embarrassed.
- Embarrassed because? - Well, a lot of people had overreacted.
Some of us had bought into the story
that Katrina was... was gonna be a once-in-a-century disaster,
and it wasn't.
The hurricane wasn't.
How was Dr. Pou the second day?
- Dr. Pou was fine. - Hmm.
Did the two of you have any conversations
about how people were, as you said, overreacting...
- I know what you're getting at. - No. I'm just trying to understand.
If people were overreacting,
what conversations you might have had with Dr. Pou
concerning what was happening in the hospital?
Did you have conversations with Dr. Pou?
I will tell you this.
On that second day when things had settled,
Dr. Pou could've left the hospital.
She stayed because she wanted to stay. She wanted to be there for her patients.
As far as her mindset, as far as our mindset,
after we survived the hurricane, we thought that we could survive anything.
And we were wrong.
Lord, were we wrong.
There was flooding in the basement,
but the water's getting pumped out.
And, uh, we had some windows blown in, but, uh, just be mindful of broken glass.
But other than that, the building held up.
And y'all did amazing, every one of you.
- Thank you. Thank you. - Well done.
Uh, Susan? The water outside?
Uh, it's gone down to around the 18-inch mark.
So, should start receding pretty quick.
Also, we're still having problems with some of our landlines,
but that's an issue with utilities.
So, until the phone company can start making repairs...
What about the air-conditioning?
That's not us.
The AC runs off the city power and the city power is out.
We're running off our backup generators right now,
but should hold us till the city power's back up.
I know it is hot, and it's only gonna get hotter.
So make sure you're drinking plenty of water.
Same with patients, family, folks sheltering.
Keep everybody hydrated. Okay?
Yes.
All right. That's it.
Thank you again.
Thank you.
Oh, I know some of y'all live right around here,
so if you leave to go check in at home,
just make sure that you let admitting know where you're going.
Get your rounds done first, okay?
Jesus. Don't close the door.
Just for a minute.
Very nice pep talk.
Well, I meant it. They made it through the hurricane.
They didn't lose a single patient. They should be proud.
Now that it's over,
has anyone talked about lowering the head count in the building?
People who are sheltering, patients who don't need medical care?
Well, if city power is still out, not everybody's gonna wanna leave.
They may not have anywhere to go.
Just because we didn't take a lot of damage, doesn't mean there's...
Until we get a better sense of what's going on outside,
let's perhaps just keep the concept of, uh, mandatory discharge out of public use.
People are anxious as it is.
Okay.
Now can we open the door?
Much of the population of New Orleans
had been evacuated to higher ground long before the storm hit.
That's because so much of the city, the Big Easy, is so easily flooded.
It's so exposed.
Add to that monster winds,
and you've got the makings for widespread damage.
What are you doing?
I heard a little, um, rumor.
An ex of mine, an anesthetist, started working here.
Just my luck he sees me looking a mess.
Well, there was a hurricane. I'm sure he's not looking real good.
I'm not concerned about how he looks.
I'm concerned about how I look. And I will not look a mess.
Believe that? Putting on makeup 'cause you got an ex working here.
I don't know why she's bothering.
If it's the guy that I'm thinking of, she does not pick men by their looks.
Yeah? I'd love to see what her husband looks like.
After last night, I could use a laugh.
This is Carrie's cell. I'll call you back as soon as I can.
Emmett. How you doing this morning?
Uh. I'm feeling all right.
Are you sure?
Yeah. Just, um, been trying to call my wife.
Can't get hold of her.
Mmm. Yeah, well, things are still settling down out there.
So until we know what's what?
You are gonna be taking us back to the hospital over at Chalmette, right?
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Just as soon as we can.
I don't want my wife losing me in all the confusion.
Emmett, I am not trying to have your wife furious at me.
I'ma call Carrie personally and let her know the minute we leave here.
Thank you.
You be good.
How you doing, man?
I had to leave out of my house, man.
I don't know whether that water's coming over that levee or what?
I don't... The last I heard, it's not.
- Huh? - Last... The storm missed us.
- I can't hear you. - The storm went east.
So you haven't heard about
that water coming over that levee from the lake?
No. I'll check it out.
'Cause the water started rising so high at my two-story apartment,
I had to get out, man.
- Where's that at? - Oh, right over…
Watch the floor. Water's still coming in.
They sending anybody up here?
Is who sending anybody?
Memorial. Take care of the water and all of that?
I don't know how y'all got it worked back at Chalmette,
but over here, one building, two hospitals.
Life Care, we're just on our own.
Hell, nobody even came up from Memorial to check on us last night.
That's dirty.
If you ever wanna transfer up to Chalmette, let me know.
Keep me posted on when you're transferring back.
Y'all been sweet to us, and I appreciate it.
Next hurricane, I'm taking the day off.
Right?
What are we looking at?
- Thank you. - Yeah.
…reports of looting. One person in the West bank called
and said, uh, people were just running in and taking what they wanted, and ran out.
Anybody who's had a chance to walk around and look at anything,
if y'all came downtown to the CBD and had a look...
Uh, I mean, this place looks like Beirut.
It looks like Beirut that was soaked with water.
So, a mil... a military presence,
people walking around in... in, uh, in full combat gear,
with... with, uh, loaded rifles,
is about the only thing that's out of... that's not in the picture.
And it's about to be in the picture.
Okay, here we go.
Ah.
How does that feel? Good? I'm gonna give you some more, okay?
Here we go.
Yeah. Yeah.
Angela, y'all doing okay?
We're all right. They gonna do something about the air-conditioning?
City power's out.
I know your mom's uncomfortable, but, uh, she's a fighter.
Yeah. Oh.
Keep giving her water. And you can use a compress if you have to.
I have been.
They should have the air on pretty soon.
Okay.
- Thanks, Diane. - Yeah.
I just wanna make sure everything's all right.
Everything's fine.
Somebody mentioned to me that they saw you carrying a gun.
- I am carrying a gun. - And it made them uncomfortable.
I have a license to carry a gun. I have a right to carry a gun.
You have every right in the world to protect yourself.
But this is still a working hospital.
And I would just ask you to be mindful of the example you're setting.
Sure. Yeah.
Thank you, Ewing.
Uh. Uh, Doctor?
- Excuse me? - Um... Yes?
Are you all making us leave?
Making you what?
Somebody said you're gonna start moving out patients.
Are you a patient?
My dad. He had to get his leg fixed up, but our house took some damage.
I-I can't take him back there.
No one is gonna be discharged if they don't have somewhere to go.
He's still in pain...
No one is going to be forcibly discharged.
Now, my name is Doctor Horace Baltz.
If you have any problems, you ask to see me. All right?
- Thank you. - All right.
Because the eye of Katrina veered east,
New Orleans avoided a direct hit, but it was still hit hard.
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco went on television,
warning those who fled the city to stay away.
It's about economies of scale, just like anything else.
And Tenet Healthcare, we're not just hospitals.
We're surgical centers, ambulatory surgical centers, urgent care centers...
- So you can provide a suite of options? - Exactly.
We support local hospitals
with corporate development resources that assist in revenue growth,
therefore market share increase and physician relations
through the entire Gulf Coast Region.
Excuse me, sir. There. There you go.
So I got a question. I'm kinda serious about it.
The Katrina stuff in Louisiana, something like that good for business?
Y'all got hospitals around New Orleans, but that kinda thing good for you?
- Oh, Jesus. - No, but...
But from a straight financial view?
And he's still on his first beer.
Look, after something like this, you get more patient traffic, right?
There's more insurance claims, more paperwork.
That's gotta cut into your margins, right?
Uh, I'm not exactly sure
which department is in charge of post-disaster, uh, P&L accounting.
I'm just in charge of Gulf Coast Business Development. So…
I-I'm just asking.
Can't really say.
So we were talking about scale?
We were talking about scale.
And Tenet Healthcare, it is the Gulf Region.
Hey. Be careful out there.
Saw some kids eyeing one of the nurses when she was out with her dog.
- Seriously? - Probably nothing, but watch yourself.
Y'all be careful if you go outside.
One of the nurses was getting harassed by some kids.
- Harassed? - It's what security told me.
Apparently, there was a nurse
who got attacked by a bunch of kids while she was outside.
- Outside the hospital? - Yeah.
- How many kids? - I just know she got attacked.
What I was told is, she was out walking,
she got attacked, raped…
- What? Where did this happen? - …by a bunch of kids.
Just outside the hospital.
- Who was assaulted? - A nurse.
- But who? - I don't have a name.
If a nurse was gang raped outside the hospital,
we probably would have treated her.
- And I haven't heard anything about... - Everybody's talking about it.
Who is every...
And if our people aren't safe at our hospital,
then we've got some serious problems.
What are we gonna do about it?
- She was sexually assaulted? - By apparently a few individuals.
Oh, we haven't heard anything about it.
That's not coming from you then?
Heard of some trouble spots out in the parish,
but a nurse being assaulted outside of the hospital? No.
- Okay. I appreciate it. Thank you. - Okay.
As the water continues to rise in New Orleans,
people are forced out of their homes, out of their neighborhoods,
out of the solace of their families.
Hey, hey. Come on, come on.
I got this. I got this.
- Look at that. - Jesus. Starting already.
No shit.
You know, I heard a couple of nurses got gang raped.
I got great stuff.
- What you got? - Don't worry. You got your own shit.
Hey. Where'd you get the stuff?
We... We got it. Don't worry about it.
Where did you get it?
- Got it at the store. - Store's not open.
Oh, we opened it.
Did your mother teach you to be a thief?
We ain't no thieves.
You stole it.
All we did,
got diapers for my little sister, got some food for my moms.
City's wrecked, man.
Y'all fixing to put us out of here.
Who's putting you out?
I mean, that's the talk. They putting people out.
You know. They're gonna put us out first.
Now where my mom supposed to get this stuff when y'all kick us to the curb?
All this is, is soul surviving.
Surviving for the soul.
Any damage to the structure, inside, outside, just get photos, document it.
- Susan. - Anything that...
Just... Just one second.
Anything to note needs to go up to corporate.
Yeah, I'll get on it.
What can I do for you?
Something about these damn rumors floating around.
I've heard. Just tell people, as far as we know, nobody was raped.
Nobody was assaulted.
Wait. What?
As far as we know, we can't confirm
that a nurse was assaulted outside the building.
That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about rumors
that we're gonna start dumping people on the streets.
We are not going to dump people.
But as soon as we can, we will consider discharging patients.
Discharging them to where, Susan? Where are people supposed to go?
We don't have city power. We are running low on medicine.
So it is in everyone's best interest to consider ways
- to ease the load of the hospital. - Not everyone has somewhere to go.
And when you start talking about putting people out,
a lot of folks in this community, they'd take that how it sounds.
Like you're abandoning them.
Dr. King, I'm getting it from all sides.
You've only been at this hospital for a few months,
so I understand that you are still learning your way around,
but I am the one who has to make the critical decisions.
If people don't have anywhere to go, we will figure it out.
Otherwise, when the water starts going down,
we have to begin discharging...
Discharging patients.
And will you pass around, if people don't know what they're talking about,
would they please keep their mouth shut?
Hey, it's Vince.
Anna and I can't come to the phone. Leave us a message.
It's me. Just trying again.
The air-conditioning is still not working, but otherwise we're, uh... we're good.
Mmm. We're good.
So, when you get this message, just call, okay?
Um, my cell service has been spotty,
so if I don't pick up, just leave a message.
I'll call you back. Okay.
I'll talk to you when you call. All right, bye.
Hey, it's Vince.
Anna and I can't come to the phone. Leave us a message.
I love you, okay?
I miss you and I love you.
Freddy!
How's it going?
Still at 18 inches.
It hasn't moved at all?
No.
The city pump should be working.
- All right. You keep an eye on it, yeah? - Yeah.
All right.
Everything's okay here. Your mom's doing okay.
It's just the heat, that's all.
They tell you what's going on?
Well, all they're saying is that the city's power is out,
so there's no air.
- There's no way to keep cool? - Well, I can see if I can get a fan.
But there's water and, uh, your mom ate some. And I'm here.
Did they say anything about when they'll have the rest of the power back on?
- Not yet. - Well, if they don't tell you anything,
you try to find somebody and ask them, okay?
- Okay. - And let us know.
- I will. She'll be fine. - Yeah. Okay.
I'll call you as soon as we get an update.
All right. You take care then.
- All right. - All right. Bye.
Hey.
How bad is it?
The dock's wrecked.
There's a lot of downed trees, but it could have been worse.
How's your mom?
Uh, Jill says the hospital's on generators.
There's no air conditioner.
And they're not telling her anything.
But your mom's okay?
I guess. I just, uh…
What?
Your mom is all right. She's got Jill with her.
And she's safer there than she would be here.
This whole area is flooded back here and it happened after the storm.
We sitting on the porch
- looking at the water rising up. - How deep is it?
It's coming up on to 4 feet. Never had no flood that deep.
The cars is underwater completely. Is the pumps on?
Pumps are on, but that area... That area is the, uh...
- The Marconi pump. - Mom, need something to drink?
- Did you hear there's flooding? - Flooding?
There's water collecting.
Well, that's what they're saying on the radio.
Oh, please, Mom.
- I want to hear what's going on. - Nobody knows what's going on.
That's the problem.
Nobody knows what they're talking about.
The people who know the least talk the most.
Mom, don't.
- Mom. - No, it's... it's all right.
It is not all right.
Oh.
Everybody's spreading rumors.
Afraid of things that aren't there.
2,000 people in this hospital and I have to take care of all of 'em.
Every one of 'em.
You did take care of them.
You got 2,000 people through the storm.
If you want the truth, that's the truth.
You did that.
- Yeah, I've got it. - Careful.
I was so worried.
- You were? - Yes. Of course.
How was it here? Huh?
That was Aaron Neville here on WWVV, the sound of New Orleans.
Playing the best music through the decades. And now Foreigner.
Uh-huh. Right? This is, like, our song.
- Our song? - Yeah.
- This is the cheesiest song. - Yeah.
But we heard it on our first date, remember?
It was at that pig roast.
I was never at a pig roast.
- You... You... What? - Mmm. No.
You could not take your eyes off me at the pig roast.
- I was never at a pig roast. - Wait, wait, wait.
You really don't remember it?
I mean, that... That may have been a first date.
I don't think it was our first date.
- Ah, yeah. - Uh-uh.
Well, I'm pretty sure.
- No. I wasn't. - Oh, no. Hang on. Wait.
Maybe it was that other beautiful, cinnamon-haired future otolaryngologist
I had my eye on. It could be.
- Maybe it was... - Had your eye on?
Uh-huh.
Mmm. I should take a shower. I smell.
You smell fine.
You smell wonderful.
I miss you so much.
If I could run to you right now, I would run to you.
But I can't. I can't be there right now.
But my love is there.
My love is always right there with you.
I love you too.
Karen?
I'm here.
Code blue. ER.
Doctor's coming.
I'll go see if it's fixed. Doctors are on their way, ma'am.
Ma'am can you hear me?
They're gonna help you with that now.
- Just try to stay calm. - At least two liters.
Breathe. Breathe.
Okay.
What's your name? Can you tell me your name?
It's Joleen.
- What's going on? - She got stabbed.
- Were you there? How many times? - Yeah. Just one.
Okay. Miss Joleen, your son tells me you were stabbed...
- Grandson. - Is that right?
Is it just the one wound?
- Do you feel pain anywhere else? - What do we have?
Female. Late 50s. Penetrating chest wound.
- Labored respirations. - No radials. BP's crashing.
- Let's get a cross and match in here. - Is she all right?
- Do we know if the blood bank's open? - I don't know.
- On it. - All right. Hang fluids for now.
- Hey! What's going on here? - Dr. Baltz, would you mind…
Yeah. Come with me, son.
- I'm staying with her. - Go with the doctor.
Come. It's all right. It's all right. They know what they're doing.
They're gonna take very good care of her. Now, you come with me, all right? Come on.
Initiate oxygen. We're gonna take care of you.
Okay. Right over there.
Now, are you all right?
Did anything happen to you?
Okay. What's your name?
Taylor.
Taylor?
I have to explain something to you.
That was a violent assault.
And the police are gonna have to write up a report on that.
They have to.
Now, if you'd like, I can help you. All right?
Okay.
What happened?
Are you trying to protect the person who did this? Hmm?
Okay.
Well, what happened? You can tell me.
Come on.
There was the whole storm and everything, right?
- Mm-hmm. - The shit passed and...
Gram, she was all happy, 'cause she thought...
We all thought it was gonna be hell a bad.
- And... But power's out. - Mm-hmm.
Nothing to do, but make something of it, right?
And so, Gran's having people over, right?
And partying and shit. And drinking and shit.
Drinking too much. A fight breaks out.
Next thing, they grab a kitchen knife.
- Who grabbed a kitchen knife? - Things got hectic. They stabbed her.
Who stabbed her?
- My mom. - Your mom?
Your mother?
Um, your mother stabbed her mother?
Hmm?
Are you gonna snitch?
Are you gonna send my mom to jail?
It's all right, son.
We'll work this out.
Doesn't make sense. It just doesn't make any sense.
I heard you.
- Well, you didn't answer, so… - What do you want me to say?
I can't leave.
The hospital is full of doctors, you know.
Your boss said before the hurricane,
that you could've signed out your patients and left town.
Okay, we are in the middle of an emergency situation.
- Yeah, the storm's over. - Every individual is needed.
We still have patients coming in. We don't know what's going on in the city.
- Nothing is going on. - I heard on the news
- people are rioting. - The news is... Come on.
The news is just...
People are... are trying to clean up. And that's it.
So you can stay.
What am I gonna do here?
- What are you gonna do out there? - Check on our house.
Okay, the house will be fine.
It will be fine, but somebody still needs to be there.
All right, look.
I'm gonna... I'm gonna check on the house.
I'm gonna pick up some food. I'm gonna come back. All right?
- Mm-hmm. Okay. - We can have another camp out.
We can listen to some more bad '80s power ballads.
Sound good?
- Mmm. Yeah. - All right.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, and, um, speaking of hearing things,
I heard that one of your ex-boyfriends started working here.
News to me.
- I love you, Anna. - I love you too.
I love you.
…metropolitan area in general, in the huge majority of areas…
…it's not rising at all. It's the same.
In some parts of New Orleans, because of the 17th Street breach,
it may be rising.
And that seemed to be the case in parts of downtown.
But I don't want to alarm everybody that, you know,
New Orleans is filling up like a bowl. That's just not happening.
That was Louisiana senator, David Vitter.
Good day to not be in Louisiana.
Every day is a good day not to be in Louisiana.
Something like this good for business?
What?
I had a client ask if something like this was good for business.
Seriously?
Yeah.
Course it's good for business.
It's a fucked-up thing to ask.
I know, right?
What are you seeing?
Tinting's been ripped off most of the building.
Got a blown-out window there
- on the third floor. - Got it. I got it.
A bunch on the fifth. HVAC damaged here.
Hey! Which one of you is in charge?
We've got some levees breached.
Get ready because we've got about 15 feet of water coming this way.
Yeah, right.
Hey. You hearing me?
Y'all got about 15 feet of water coming. You don't have a lot of time.
Water is coming. A shitload of water.
How much is a shitload?
The storm surge from the hurricane caused the 17th Street Canal levee
to collapse on the Orleans side.
Water's pouring into the city from Lake Pontchartrain.
- Has been since yesterday. - Yesterday?
Water's been pouring into the city since yesterday?
Where are you getting this information from?
Susan, I think we need...
No. I have spent a day and a night listening to rumors and half-truths.
And now this one shows up here. It's...
- How does no one know levees collapsed? - It is a goddamn mess out there.
No one is in charge. Nobody knows what they're doing.
If you're waiting for an official order, it's not coming.
- What do we do? - Get your people outta here.
Activate your evac plan. Put it to work.
We don't have a plan for evacuating during a flood.
Jesus Christ.
Well, we have people stationed here.
We'll do what we can, but you need to get something going.
Jesus.
How much water until we're in real trouble?
Four feet puts the electrical switches under.
Then we lose what's left of our power.
- Food, supplies, the emergency room... - We need to call someone.
- We need to call... - Call someone?
- We need to get in touch with the city. - Yeah, but did... did you hear him?
Nobody in the city knows what they're doing.
If we start trying to move patients...
What if he's wrong? What if there is no water?
Eric, go get some spotters outside. I need to know when the water's coming.
- How fast, how high. - All right.
I need a head count. How many patients are left.
How many staff. Who's been discharged. Who's left.
I need to know every soul that's in this hospital.
Jesus. God help me.
Dr. Pou, where's your husband?
Vince left. He went to check on our house.
You need to go get him. Look outside.
No, I mean, do you see that? Look how fast it's coming in though.
They're saying that the levees have breached in at some location, and…
Hey, it's Vince.
Anna and I can't come to the phone. Leave us a message.
Vince, it's Anna. If you're there, pick up.
Vince, are you there?
Vince? Vince, pick up the phone.
Vince.