Jared Salvo- Katrina disaster support - the second day
Hi All,Another late night- we have just returned from a full day. Kyle and I have seen nearly 150 patients between the 2 of us. We have seen it all. Today we stopped by 5 different Evacuee stations. One thing you will find is that people here do not want to be called refugees so we have the media to thank for another misnomer- we are using the word evacuee which is now acceptable. I think Kyle and I have the unique experience of being 2 of a few docs who have visited both Red Cross/FEMA and non-governement camps (i.e. Churches and faith based locations). As hard as this is to say as a strong supporter of government- I will tell you that the Churches have far surpassed the government in taking care of all the evacuees. The supplies and medications that Churches have collected are unbelievable. The Red Cross and FEMA on the other hand are too busy fighting each other for jurisdiction of care and over what needs to be done- so in the end things dont get done. At the Churches though, we (and the other volunteers) can just roll up our sleeves without red-tape and get the job done. The Red Cross facility at Southern University this morning was a depressing place, partly from the people that are working there. The other Churches today that we went to have the same acuity of evacuees but they are in much better spirits. Please understand that the Churches are housing people of all race and religion. If ever there was an argument to support local government rather than a federal, central governent, I am seeing it. The National Guard are actually thanking Kyle and I for our work! Sorry to ramble- but I dont think the media will ever tell you this.
People are able to drive back to New Orleans today to try and collect their valuables but they have to be out before dark or risk being arrested and/or shot as suspected looters. We are hearing stories first hand of unbelievable anarchy down there but most of that is now over. People here are in shock over the things they have seen. Many just need someone to talk to or cry to- and we are tellling them that California and America cares- that we dont want them to think they are alone. We hope our actions and words will support that statement.
We are seeing all types of patients: foot wounds from the filthy water wading people have done- we are treating all wounds very aggressively with antibiotics and referring people for tetanus shots wherever we can get therm (Kyle and I cant carry these with us). Pharmacies have been honoring our California prescriptions thus far. We are seeing a lot of chronic diseases- hypertension, diabetes, HIV, sickle cell and we are seeing acute diseases- tons of skin infections. No massive outbreaks yet but my understanding from another Doc we ran into that neither the CDC or dept of Health are ready to send anyone down to assess suspected outbreaks of anything. Also, as you can imagine, the stress and events have stirred up all of the psychiatric disorders and we are seeing flare ups of psychosis, schizophrenia, and some of the worse Bipolar/mania I have ever seen. We are hanging in there and really trying to help in any capacity. I feel I have done something if we can alleviate the burdens on the Emergency Rooms by treating in the field.
I have to give props to a small town; Waverly, Tennessee who alone managed to put together one of the best stocked clinics I have seen- to rival what the govt put up at the Astrodome and they even sent down almost 10 nurses to assist- they were just waiting for some Docs which arrived in the forms of Kyle and I this afternoon to get the clinic in full swing. I will never know how such a small town was able to put together an effort to rival all others- and they are still sending more! Truly amazing.
Tomorrow we will try and find more small evacuee camps at various churches and civic buildings where no medical care has arrived yet becuase that is where we are truly needed. Just as I had hoped- the places are getting word that more structured relief will be arriving next week which is exactly what I wanted- for us to be a bridge until more help arrives. We will work our way back to Houston tomorrow night stopping at sites along the way. We fly back Tuesday mroning and I am not really sure how I will return to 'normalcy' knowing people still need help.
If anyone wants to send relief in the form of clothes or goods, I have addresses of 2 large evacuee sites that are welcoming them by mail (yes there is mail here):
St John Missionary Baptist Church
820 New Rafe Mayer Rd
Baton Rouge, LA 70807
Miracle Place Church
2080 Main St
Baker, LA 70714
I thank you all for listening to me and my rambling- I only hope I can get the word out of what is really happening here since I am not sure what the media is telling you or if they see the same stuff we do. I will share photos when we get back. Again, we are safe and WELL FED! Southern Hospitality!!
- Jared Salvo
PS: Thank you to Blues Icon, Larry Garner for housing Kyle and I here in Baton Rouge. He has been a great host- check him out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Garner
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