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NRHA
Conference Attendees Assist With Katrina Cleanup In New
Orleans
In
August and September 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
ravaged the Gulf Coast region. St. Bernard Parish,
Louisiana was inundated with rainwater and floodwaters
averaging 6 to 20 feet in depth for nearly two weeks.
One hundred percent of the homes in St. Bernard Parish
were uninhabitable after the storms. Almost three years
later, St. Bernard Parish is returning to life. About
25% of homes, parks and businesses have been rebuilt and
over a dozen churches have reopened (for more
information, see
www.stbernardproject.org).
As part of its 2008 annual
conference, the National Rural Health Association
coordinated with a local volunteer organization, the St.
Bernard Project, to offer attendees the chance to help
rebuild homes damaged by the storms and flooding.
Thirty-seven conference attendees participated in the
Louisiana Experience, spending the morning visiting
areas damaged by the hurricanes, including the Lower 9th
Ward, and working on three in-progress houses during the
afternoon. Two groups worked on treating exposed wood
for mold and the third group hung drywall.
Healthcare in New Orleans is
far from fully recovered. The damage to New Orleans
businesses has decreased insurance coverage even further
below the pre-storm rate of 21%. Charity Hospital, the
largest provider of care to the poor and uninsured
before the storm, has not reopened. Other facilities are
operating at partial capacity and it is estimated that
hundreds of healthcare providers have not returned.
While New Orleans is the
best-known location impacted by Katrina, rural areas in
several states, including Louisiana, suffered
significantly as well. Stacy Fontenot, Executive
Director of the Louisiana Rural Health Association, will
share information about the impact of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita on rural Louisiana in our August issue.
NRHA volunteers hang drywall in a
home damaged by the storms and flooding.
Many homes damaged by Katrina are
still abandoned, demolished, or awaiting demolition.
NRHA
volunteers treat a home to destroy mold caused by 12
feet of standing floodwater.
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