http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water The Epic Struggle Of Two Hospitals Rescue Of The Abandoned en-us 2006-05-27T15:22:34-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 The Epic Struggle Of Two Hospitals Rescue Of The Abandoned New Orleans — On Tuesday morning, Feb. 14, the sun shone in a crisp blue sky as dozens of people wearing scrubs and business suits gathered on the rooftop of Tulane Hospital’s Saratoga Street parking garage. In a few hours,... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/27/chapter_22_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — On Tuesday morning, Feb. 14, the sun shone in a crisp blue sky as dozens of people wearing scrubs and business suits gathered on the rooftop of Tulane Hospital’s Saratoga Street parking garage. In a few hours,... 71031@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-27T15:22:34-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — On Tuesday morning, Feb. 14, the sun shone in a crisp blue sky as dozens of people wearing scrubs and business suits gathered on the rooftop of Tulane Hospital’s Saratoga Street parking garage. In a few hours,... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/26/chapter_21_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water Nearly two weeks after her son’s death, Carolyn Lewis was still searching for his body. It wasn’t at Baton Rouge General, where he had died shortly after his evacuation. Carolyn called the local sheriff’s department. I’m trying to find out... 70877@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-26T13:38:32-05:00 ajc.com Nearly two weeks after her son’s death, Carolyn Lewis was still searching for his body. It wasn’t at Baton Rouge General, where he had died shortly after his evacuation. Carolyn called the local sheriff’s department. I’m trying to http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/25/chapter_20_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water On Friday, Sept. 2, Susan Sanborn lined up for a tetanus shot and a dose of Cipro at a hospital in Covington, La. The vaccine and antibiotic would help ward off bacteria that the Charity Hospital student nurse might have... 70423@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-25T15:57:12-05:00 ajc.com On Friday, Sept. 2, Susan Sanborn lined up for a tetanus shot and a dose of Cipro at a hospital in Covington, La. The vaccine and antibiotic would help ward off bacteria that the Charity Hospital student nurse might have... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/24/chapter_19_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — By Friday morning, Sept. 2, Dr. Ben deBoisblanc was nearly a one-man operation on autopilot. As long as helicopters continued to land on the roof of the Tulane Hospital parking garage across the street, the impassioned physician... 70044@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-24T13:08:00-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — By Friday morning, Sept. 2, Dr. Ben deBoisblanc was nearly a one-man operation on autopilot. As long as helicopters continued to land on the roof of the Tulane Hospital parking garage across the street, the impassioned physician... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/23/chapter_18_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — *The Tulane Hospital parking garage shook as the sky lit up in one spectacular explosion, followed by three smaller ones. Flames shot 1,000 feet into the air. It was 4:35 a.m., Friday, Sept. 2. Everyone on the... 69699@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-23T13:46:33-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — *The Tulane Hospital parking garage shook as the sky lit up in one spectacular explosion, followed by three smaller ones. Flames shot 1,000 feet into the air. It was 4:35 a.m., Friday, Sept. 2. Everyone on the... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/22/chapter_17_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — When Charity Hospital administrators asked for volunteers to escort patients across the street, then ride out with them on military helicopters, Granville Morse was one of the first to raise his hand. Man, take care of patients... 69291@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-22T12:44:13-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — When Charity Hospital administrators asked for volunteers to escort patients across the street, then ride out with them on military helicopters, Granville Morse was one of the first to raise his hand. Man, take care of patients... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/21/post.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — Nerves frayed as the city slipped toward anarchy. By Thursday afternoon, Sept. 1, it felt to Mel Lagarde as though security around Tulane Hospital was breaking down. Gunfire could be heard on the streets. There were reports... 69076@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-21T16:04:50-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — Nerves frayed as the city slipped toward anarchy. By Thursday afternoon, Sept. 1, it felt to Mel Lagarde as though security around Tulane Hospital was breaking down. Gunfire could be heard on the streets. There were reports... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/20/chapter_15_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — Susan Sanborn heard the sound but wasn’t sure what it was. It came from somewhere outside Charity Hospital. Was someone setting off fireworks? Sanborn looked at another nurse, and he answered her question before she could ask... 69053@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-20T17:44:09-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — Susan Sanborn heard the sound but wasn’t sure what it was. It came from somewhere outside Charity Hospital. Was someone setting off fireworks? Sanborn looked at another nurse, and he answered her question before she could ask... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/19/chapter_14_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — John Holland, the Georgia pilot running the Tulane Hospital helipad, wrote down the precise number of critical patients Dr. Ben deBoisblanc said he needed to evacuate from Charity Hospital: 21. But on Thursday, Sept. 1, more than... 68924@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-19T12:56:27-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — John Holland, the Georgia pilot running the Tulane Hospital helipad, wrote down the precise number of critical patients Dr. Ben deBoisblanc said he needed to evacuate from Charity Hospital: 21. But on Thursday, Sept. 1, more than... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/18/chapter_13_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — Wednesday evening, Aug. 31, Sherry Hebert and Carolyn Lewis watched from a window at Charity Hospital as helicopters landed and took off across the street. They had no way of knowing whether their sons were aboard any... 68484@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-18T13:08:09-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — Wednesday evening, Aug. 31, Sherry Hebert and Carolyn Lewis watched from a window at Charity Hospital as helicopters landed and took off across the street. They had no way of knowing whether their sons were aboard any... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/17/chapter_12_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — Tulane Avenue was the River Styx — as foul and fearsome as the Greek mythological river of hell. Yet brave souls crossed the waters from the public hospital to the private one, in hopes of rescue. Wednesday... 68143@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-17T13:44:18-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — Tulane Avenue was the River Styx — as foul and fearsome as the Greek mythological river of hell. Yet brave souls crossed the waters from the public hospital to the private one, in hopes of rescue. Wednesday... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/16/chapter_11_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — Celeste Waddell didn’t know whether Hunter Reeves felt her presence. A respiratory therapist at Charity Hospital for nearly 22 years, she refused to leave her patient’s side as he struggled for his life. Hunter, unconscious, had come... 67842@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-16T12:51:34-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — Celeste Waddell didn’t know whether Hunter Reeves felt her presence. A respiratory therapist at Charity Hospital for nearly 22 years, she refused to leave her patient’s side as he struggled for his life. Hunter, unconscious http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/15/chapter_10_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water The story spread rapidly through Charity Hospital, devastating those who were scrambling to save lives but running out of time: Gov. Kathleen Blanco had announced that Charity had already been evacuated. 67582@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-15T15:19:54-05:00 ajc.com The story spread rapidly through Charity Hospital, devastating those who were scrambling to save lives but running out of time: Gov. Kathleen Blanco had announced that Charity had already been evacuated. http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/14/chapter_9_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — Col. John Holland stepped off the red, white and blue Emory Flight helicopter Wednesday morning — a vision of calm and control. I need to get to your command center, he said. A new player in the... 67260@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-14T17:11:21-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — Col. John Holland stepped off the red, white and blue Emory Flight helicopter Wednesday morning — a vision of calm and control. I need to get to your command center, he said. A new player in the... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/13/chapter_8_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — At Charity Hospital, Susan Sanborn held tight to her sanity by keeping up with her job. As a student nurse, the petite woman with curly auburn hair was in charge of bathing patients, cleaning their bedpans and... 67226@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-13T15:21:14-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — At Charity Hospital, Susan Sanborn held tight to her sanity by keeping up with her job. As a student nurse, the petite woman with curly auburn hair was in charge of bathing patients, cleaning their bedpans and... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/12/chapter_7_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water Nashville — Within hours after the levees broke in New Orleans, executives of the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain were thinking ahead: What would they do with their stranded employees after airlifting them to safety? A risky helicopter rescue of... 67064@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-12T13:12:51-05:00 ajc.com Nashville — Within hours after the levees broke in New Orleans, executives of the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain were thinking ahead: What would they do with their stranded employees after airlifting them to safety? A risky helicop http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/12/chapter_6_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — Sharif Omar normally spent his days darting about Tulane Hospital armed with a walkie-talkie and cellphone as he directed the transporting of patients and oversaw food service and laboratory operations. On Tuesday, Aug. 30, the hospital administrator... 66938@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-12T04:43:37-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — Sharif Omar normally spent his days darting about Tulane Hospital armed with a walkie-talkie and cellphone as he directed the transporting of patients and oversaw food service and laboratory operations. On Tuesday, Aug. 30, the hospita http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/11/chapter_5_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — At Charity Hospital, even the walls were sweating. By Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 30, it was over 100 degrees in some units. The air was palpable, and the walls dripped with condensation. Nursing student Susan Sanborn would cut... 66559@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-11T04:23:51-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — At Charity Hospital, even the walls were sweating. By Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 30, it was over 100 degrees in some units. The air was palpable, and the walls dripped with condensation. Nursing student Susan Sanborn would cut... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/10/chapter_4_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water Nashville — Jack Bovender immediately understood the enormity of the situation at Tulane Hospital. The chairman and CEO of the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain had just walked into the boardroom Tuesday morning about 8 o’clock when Mel Lagarde called... 66321@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-10T04:43:48-05:00 ajc.com Nashville — Jack Bovender immediately understood the enormity of the situation at Tulane Hospital. The chairman and CEO of the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain had just walked into the boardroom Tuesday morning about 8 o’clock http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/09/chapter_3_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — Mel Lagarde fell asleep on an office floor at Tulane Hospital Monday night, lying on a quilt and using a pillow he had brought from home. He closed his eyes feeling confident. The hospital had absorbed the... 65996@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-09T04:18:22-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — Mel Lagarde fell asleep on an office floor at Tulane Hospital Monday night, lying on a quilt and using a pillow he had brought from home. He closed his eyes feeling confident. The hospital had absorbed the... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/08/chapter_2_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — The news stunned Susan Sanborn on Saturday morning: Hurricane Katrina, on its way to becoming a catastrophic Category 5, was hurtling toward her beloved city like a heat-seeking missile. The professional dancer-turned-student nurse didn’t consider evacuating. She... 65601@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ 2006-05-08T04:13:44-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — The news stunned Susan Sanborn on Saturday morning: Hurricane Katrina, on its way to becoming a catastrophic Category 5, was hurtling toward her beloved city like a heat-seeking missile. The professional dancer-turned-student nurse did http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/05/chapter_1_of_22.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water New Orleans — It wasn’t the dark that scared Sherry Hebert. It was the silence. The whir of the machines keeping her son alive at Charity Hospital suddenly shut off, signaling a failure in the backup power system. Sherry stood... 65383@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ FrontPage 2006-05-05T16:28:15-05:00 ajc.com New Orleans — It wasn’t the dark that scared Sherry Hebert. It was the silence. The whir of the machines keeping her son alive at Charity Hospital suddenly shut off, signaling a failure in the backup power system. Sherry stood... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/entries/2006/05/05/about_the_series.html?cxntfid=blogs_through_hell_and_high_water “Through Hell and High Water,â€? a serial narrative told in 22 daily chapters, reveals what happened inside two hospitals, one private and one public, during the days after the levees broke in New Orleans. It is an intimate portrait of... 65382@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/twohospitals/ About 2006-05-05T16:24:16-05:00