Shortly before the entire hospital could be evacuated, some of these patients were given morphine and midazolam under unclear circumstances. These decisions proved crucial for the critically ill patients who required extensive care and support and who were at high risk of dying of their illnesses even in the absence of the conditions that Hurricane Katrina brought to Memorial Hospital. Without an established evacuation plan, when limited evacuation resources arrived, the staff found themselves having to make difficult decisions about who should leave the hospital first. Fink describes doctors and nurses, physically and emotionally exhausted from being trapped in the dark, scorching, foul-smelling (from lack of sanitation) hospital for days without running water, air conditioning, and lights,manually ventilating intubated patients, and fanning the patients and themselves with pieces of cardboard. Major issues included supply shortages, loss of power, lack of clear evacuation plans, breakdowns in both internal and external communications, and extreme fatigue. Fink vividly portrays the physical, emotional, and ethical challenges of providing care in the storm-ravaged hospital. The first part describes the events and experiences of the approximately 600 staff and more than 200 patients who, along with their loved ones, were stranded at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana during and immediately after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The book consists of nine chapters and is divided into two parts.
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