Escaping with VLBW neonates: caring for and transporting very low birth weight infants during a disaster.

AUGUST 29: HURRICANE KATRINA LANDFALL: I am a neonatologist in private practice and had been at the hospital for 24 hours along with 40 other physicians. I had volunteered to take care of the patients at Memorial Medical Center (MMC) during Hurricane Katrina. There were 16 infants in the NICU, 260 patients in total at the hospital, 500 essential employees, and 1200 family members of the patients and employees with their pets taking refuge from the storm. An additional 50 patients were in an acute care ward for adults with chronic conditions run by LifeCare within the hospital premises. Like most people, I thought Katrina would be just like other hurricanes that had threatened the city in the last few years. We would be at the hospital for a few days, and then we would return home. I had no idea what we were about to encounter. As Katrina approached New Orleans, Louisiana, the NICU staff moved the infants to an inside room because of the many windows that could endanger their safety. When Katrina made landfall in the early morning, the strong 125-mph winds did blow in several of the hospital’s windows, including some in the NICU. As soon as the electrical power was lost, the backup generators started and restored the emergency electrical services. After enduring several hours of severe winds and rain, there was a general feeling of relief because the storm was over. Many windows were shattered, there was glass and water in many places, but apparently there was little structural damage to the main hospital building. In the ensuing hours we heard that the storm surge had breached the levee system, and the waters from Lake Pontchartrain were flooding the city. Still, we had no awareness of the impending severity of the situation. It soon became ominous as the floodwater reached the hospital and started rising all too rapidly.