Saturday, September 17, 2005

This local disaster team is headed back north. Paul has earned a well-deserved reputation as a hard, smart worker. He will be headed back in a week to be part of the second phase – rebuilding. Trippy (Tripod) is a new addition. He entertained us with his antics in Mississippi and has agreed to make his new home in Oxford. You’ll love him, too. Duke’s Team left last night. Besides their clothes and equipment, they loaded the bus with a rescue cat and three kittens that were on their way to be drowned. Medical people have soft hearts.

Looking back over the past 8 days, it is amazing what was accomplished. I have to salute all the people we worked with. The organizational skills and professionalism of the Duke Team produced a smooth running and efficient medical clinic providing very good care at no cost to over 2,000 people. A fully functioning and stocked pharmacy was left in place for the arriving pharmacist. A mini surgical suite is awaiting new patients, with a custom built table, designed by Dr. Larry Keller from Virginia, and built by the volunteers during one evening. A system was left behind that any medical/nursing professional can step into and feel comfortable. And it all started with one nurse offering to provide free first aid to her devastated community.

Breakfast this Saturday is being provided by a crew of volunteer chefs from California. They are using the mobile Viking kitchen donated by the owner of Viking Kitchen equipment. This cooking team will cook free meals for over 1,000 people per day, distributing the meals to refugee and volunteer sites in this area.

Most of the white collared, black tee-shirted clergy have gone back to their parishes for Sunday services. A large group of volunteers have come here for their weekend fun, and brought their camping equipment with them. It has become a brightly colored, tent city. If the Army Corp of Engineers had worked a little faster, we could have had a pool in place by today. Instead they are finishing up the road, and grading the site for the pharmacy pods, and tent clinic. They saved the trees.

The mobile home is really empty as the three of us climb in. One small bag of dog food sits on the floor where the twenty 50 pound bags rested when we got here. As we head out, we notice a long line of fresh power company trucks headed south on the interstate. Change of shift. And change of focus.

When you participate in these adventures, you identify which phase person you are – the first phase requires rapid deployment of safety and security personnel; establishment of emergent medical care sites; and safe water, food and shelter resources for all affected individuals and those coming to serve them. As stabilization goes on in the first phase, assessment and planning for the second phase are mandatory. This is the phase that belongs to the people of the respective communities, who should be assisted by the outside resources.

The first phase is the one I am comfortable in and have the skills for. Katrina the Hurricane has provided many learning experiences. I hope that we will use them wisely. Ten days ago, I asked people to directly support relief efforts in the Gulf Coast of the United States. I was genuinely surprised that people gave me cash in significant quantities to use at my discretion. One side of my brain said, "HAWAII". The other said, "You buy so much as a candy bar, and you’re grounded for life." Mom and Dad won out. Every penny went directly into the heart of the hurricane debris path.

It is an awesome trust that was given to me, and to anyone trusted with Other People’s Money (OPM). What I saw and experience makes me alarmed at how our government and major relief agencies are spending OPM.

NIH and Duke University paired up for a first class emergency medical unit in Meridian, MS. in the northeast section of Mississippi. A 500 bed facility was set up with the National Guard. Duke University Medical Center trauma physicians, pulmonologists, OB nurses, ER nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, psychiatric nurse practitioners were all on board. This was a million dollar plus operation of OPM spent on a project that treated not ONE patient in five days, and then was abandoned. There was no way for disaster victims to reach the site, and there was little communication about the facility to the people who needed to know. That’s how the Duke Team arrived in Long Beach/Pass Christian. The medical team wanted to treat people. Five minutes before their bus was ready to take them home, the mayor of Meridian ran up and begged them to stay, and go south. They did, on their own time and money.

The University of Maryland’s School of Nursing mobile medical offices were "loaned" to the Red Cross through the Governor of Maryland. A million dollars of facilities on wheels – a treasure trove of practicality in a disaster, fully stocked and staffed. The two units went from city to city trying to find a Red Cross site that knew what to do with them. They should have gone to the Coast, they ended up going home early. That is OPM close to home.

FEMA directed thousands of personnel to Atlanta for training and deployment. Fire fighters were one of their major resources. Thousands sat in the Atlanta airport area for 5-7 days waiting for assignments. Out in the field, they handed out FEMA literature and answered questions. These are highly trained individuals that should have been doing more than clerical work. People were dying while fire fighters waited for a course on avoiding sexual harassment. OPM – Other People’s Money, our money, not at work.

Almost everyone who volunteered had stories of how the poor communication, the poor judgment, the inadequate response, the misdirection cost lives, delayed help, contributed to the disaster, and wasted money. This is not a political issue – this is our issue – each of us needs to ask how did this happen, and how can we build a resource that will work. Why wasn’t the military called in early? Why was the 82^nd Airborne left sitting for days when they had the needed resources for stabilization? The US Armed Forces is ready to move quickly with field hospitals, kitchens, shelter and security in a rapid fashion. This was a massive disaster, and required a massive, rapid response. What happened? And how can we learn from this?

I look at our small effort. We worked together as a People, as Americans, Canadians, as Christians, Jews, all denominations and none, Black, white, Asian and Hispanic. We worked to fill a need of our fellow man. So much was done with so little for so many because of faith in who we are as a People, and what we know we can do together for a higher purpose. Each of us in the small efforts did what each of you wanted to do – jump in a truck and be there to help – your spirit, our spirit is what this is all about –

Dedicated to David Hensinger – A man of great spirit and love. died 9/18/2005.