Health Care In New Orleans Before And After Hurricane Katrina

Rudowitz, Robin; Rowland, Diane; Shartzer, Adele

doi:10.1377/hlthaff.25.w393

Cited by 111 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…During the second year after the disaster (2007), a third of the respondents still reported at least some difficulties accessing health care (results not shown). Rudowitz, Rowland, and Shartzer (2006) reported that the number of physicians throughout the affected area dropped from about 4,500 before to 1,200 after the hurricane; and the number of emergency medical service units declined from 17 in 2005 to 7 in 2006. Our findings suggest that this decline in providers was severe among Vietnamese-speaking practitioners; which may well have been a contributing cause in the steep decline in obtaining routine health care among Vietnamese-Americans, given their preference for such providers…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After the storm, the per capita figure dropped to 1.99 (Berggren and Curiel 2006). In-patient beds for mental health services were reduced from a total of 462 beds before the storm to 160 beds afterwards, and only 3 of the 8 pre-Katrina mental health out-patient clinics in the area were open after the disaster (Rudowitz, Rowland and Shartzer 2006). Shortages of health-care professionals remain: by 2008, there was only about one primary care physician for every 3,000 people and only one psychiatrist for every 21,000 people (Calderon-Abbo 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disparities in health care among Vietnamese New Orleanians and the impacts of Hurricane Katrina

Hutchinson²,

Kathryn³

et al. 2009

Research in the Sociology of Health Care

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This paper examines the use of routine health care and disparities by socio-economic status among Vietnamese New Orleanians. It also assesses how these differences may have changed as the result of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast in late summer 2005, devastating the infrastructure of the health care system of New Orleans. Data for this study come from a panel of Vietnamese New Orleanians who were interviewed in 2005, just weeks before the hurricane, and followed up twice near the disaster’s anniversary in 2006 and 2007. Findings show a steep declining trend in routine health care after the hurricane, compared to 2005. Marked differences in health care were already apparent in 2005 (before Katrina) between education levels, home ownership, and health insurance coverage. These differences were significantly reduced one year after the hurricane. We argue, however, that the reduction in disparities was not due to improved health care services or improved health care practice. Instead, it was likely due to the influx of free health care services that were provided to meet urgent needs of hurricane survivors while the area’s infrastructure was devastated. By 2007, these free health care services were no longer widely available. Routine health visits dropped further and the temporary reduction in disparities disappeared. The paper also underlines ongoing shortages of essential health care services for Vietnamese New Orleanians. Efforts need to ensure that all members of this community receive the full array of comprehensive and culturally-appropriate health care as they continue to rebuild from the Katrina disaster.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disparities in health care among Vietnamese New Orleanians and the impacts of Hurricane Katrina

Hutchinson²,

Kathryn³

et al. 2009

Research in the Sociology of Health Care

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“…With the health care systems devastated following the hurricanes,6 some community organizations such as schools have provided mental health support for children and families post Katrina 7. Traditionally researchers have reported significant barriers in disseminating interventions in schools 8–10.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Disaster Mental Health Care in Schools

Kataoka

Nadeem

Wong

et al. 2009

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

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Background Although schools are often the first institution to provide recovery efforts for children post-disaster, few studies have involved the school community in research to improve the delivery of these mental health services on campuses. This community partnered study explores post-disaster counseling services ten months following Hurricane Katrina. Methods In July 2006, nine focus groups, comprised of 39 school-based mental health counselors and 6 program administrators (10 men, 35 women), were conducted following a two-day clinical training regarding a youth trauma intervention following Hurricane Katrina. Participants discussed types of services they had been providing prior to the training and potential barriers to delivering services. Results Participants identified high mental health needs of students and described populations that did not seem to be adequately supported by current funding sources, including those with preexisting traumatic experiences and mental health issues, indirect psychological and social consequences of the storms, and those students relocated to less impacted communities. Participants also described the need for a centralized information system. Conclusions Participants described the need for greater organizational structure that supports school counselors and provides system-level support for services. Implications for next steps of this community partnered approach are described.

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“…12 Historically, the New Orleans safety net was a fragmented, inefficient system, in which the "usual source of care" for the city's poor was the public-sector emergency department at Charity Hospital. 13 Following Hurricane Katrina, Charity Hospital was permanently closed, leaving a gap in services for the city's most vulnerable patients. The federal grant funding was intended to restore and increase access to health care services and also to support the creation of a sustainable network of community-based health care clinics for the poor and uninsured.…”

Section: The Case Of New Orleansmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Post-Katrina Conversion Of Clinics In New Orleans To Medical Homes Shows Change Is Possible, But Hard To Sustain

Rittenhouse

Schmidt

Wu³

et al. 2012

Health Affairs

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Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the health care infrastructure in and around New Orleans in 2005. We describe a natural experiment that occurred afterward, amid efforts to rebuild the city's health care system, in which diverse safety-net clinics were transformed into medical homes. Using surveys of clinic leaders and administrative data, we found that clinics made substantial progress in implementing new clinical processes to improve access, quality and safety, and care coordination and integration. But there was wide variation, with some clinics making only minimal progress. Because the transformation was closely tied to the receipt of federal grants and bonus payments, we observed declines in performance toward the end of the study, when clinics faced diminished federal funding and refocused their priorities on survival. Now that federal funds have dried up, moreover, clinics may be losing ground in sustaining their practice changes. The experience shows that payment to support medical home transformation must be robust and stable, and clinics need to be fully integrated into the broader health care system to improve overall coordination of care.

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Health Care In New Orleans Before And After Hurricane Katrina

Cited by 111 publications

References 2 publications

Disparities in health care among Vietnamese New Orleanians and the impacts of Hurricane Katrina

Disparities in health care among Vietnamese New Orleanians and the impacts of Hurricane Katrina

Improving Disaster Mental Health Care in Schools

The Post-Katrina Conversion Of Clinics In New Orleans To Medical Homes Shows Change Is Possible, But Hard To Sustain

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