Report #2 from BARHC Caravan in New Orleans

BARHC medics report that yesterday, Cindy Sheehan, from Camp Casey, now relocated to Covington, Louisiana (north of New Orleans), visited Algiers yesterday with a team of media, so word is getting out. Global justice reporter Naomi Klein is (or was) also there.

Dr. Michael Kozart of BARHC reports that the area is still more or less a “ghost town.” They are treating about 50 people per day. Most of the residents there now are ones who stayed to weather the storm, but more residents are “trickling in.” Up to now, this has been difficult due to roadblocks and checkpoints. However, the media is reporting that Mayor Ray Nagin has said they would be letting in residents of Algiers and other unflooded neighborhoods, so numbers should increase over the coming days.

According to Kozart, medics are mostly treating people with chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes. They are not seeing large numbers of injuries, infections, or diarrheal illness.

Below is a message from Kozart regarding the need for more medical personnel, especially those who can prescribe medications. It remains unclear whether the special dispensation for out-of-state people to prescribe medications in Louisiana applies also to nurse practitioners and physician assistants, as well as to MDs. It sounds like people who can make a longer-term commitment are especially needed.

I received a message on the action-medical list asking whether doctors and nurses who are not street medics can help in this effort. While I certainly cannot speak for the people on the ground, it sounds like the treatment they are providing involves basic medical care, not the type of situations street medics are trained for. So, I’d venture to say that all who can help are welcome, as long as they are coming in the spirit of “solidarity not charity” and willing to work as part of a cooperative effort (i.e., not attempting to “pull rank”). If you are considering of going down, call Kozart (number at the end of message below) to get a better sense of the ever-evolving situation.

From: michael kozart <wphilly65 [at] yahoo.com>

Hey Everyone,

This is Michael K writing from Algiers in New Orleans. We have had a tremendous outpouring of support, in terms of materials and spirit, from folks in the immediate community, the local region, and nation-wide. The clinic is up and running full steam, and we're seeing lots of patients. We're providing everything we can think of--from herbalism, accupuncture, and counseling, to full medical support. We have an incredibly well stocked formulary, with a huge number of medications, glucometers, you name it. Most of the patients with medical problems are coming in having run out of meds, and we've seen diabetics with sugars over 400 and folks with hypertension with SBPs greater than 200. We've been able to give most everyone the medications that they've been taking, and for those who have medication needs that we can't provide, we've arranged transport to the county hospital/pharmacy...Since this is such an underserved area, we're seeing people who haven't had any primary medical care for years, and we're getting them plugged in...We have folks following up with us, and we're even doing home visits on bikes. We have grand plans to extend into satellite clinics, and hopefully to get across the river into the 9th ward and to start a clinic over there too...The main concern now is for medical personal who can prescribe meds. Under the Louisiana state of emergency, all MDs who have active medical licenses in their home state have instant prescribing privileges here in Louisiana--simply bring copies of your license and DEA. I am not sure if this applies to NPs--could someone check on this? I will have to leave Saturday or Sunday, and at this time, I've been the only physician regularly working in the clinic...We desperately need a prescribing clinician to be able to commit to being here for a bit of time...We want to keep this clinic operation going, and maybe it will become the kernel for a much wider creation of grass-roots clinical mutual aid clinics in New Orleans and beyond, but we need folks! If there's any MDs or NPs planning on coming to Louisiana soon, could you call me on the ground here? 415-702-5872.

(Reported by Liz Highleyman in San Francisco for the Bay Area Radical Health Collective.)