Learning from Katrina

by Brenda L. Elledge, Dr. P.H.
Spring 2006

In response to a call from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, the SWCPHP departed for Houston on September 7th with an environmental health response team, led by Dr. Daniel Boatright, to assist with the Hurricane Katrina response. Team members included Drs. Brenda Elledge and Rod Clinkenbeard of the Department of Occupational & Environmental Health and Dr. Paul Woodson of the Southwest Center for Public Health Preparedness. Dr. Robert Vincent joined the team on September 10.

In Brief
Following the hurricane, more than 200,000 were displaced to evacuation centers in at least 18 states. Thousands of displaced citizens of New Orleans and surrounding areas were relocated to Houston, with temporary placement at the Reliant Center.

Our Part
The SWCPHP team supported our UTHSC colleagues in their efforts to deal with prevalent environmental health issues. Upon arrival, approximately 25,000 citizens were housed in three separate facilities within the Reliant Center.

Team Work
The SWCPHP joined several other teams in performing thousands of health assessments every evening using a one page rapid assessment tally form. The information gathered was used to help identify communicable disease signs and syndromes and expedite care for those in need.

Observations
The team observed volunteers engaging in numerous risky behaviors that not only contributed to the possible spread of infection, but also increased personal risk of exposure.

Discussion
At the 2006 OPHA pre-conference, the SWCPHP will discuss the educational and training curricula with public health leaders, volunteer leaders, volunteers and emergency responders. Following this, materials will be developed and made available for dissemination.

Potential Pitfalls
As a part of our effort, the SWCPHP team observed a number of public health issues that inevitably occur when evacuees are placed in this type of situation. A few to mention include over-crowding, bright environment, noise, sleep deprivation, poor diet, spread of infectious diseases, lack of hygienic practices, lack of facilities conducive to good hygiene, a reluctance to seek medical care and poor support for special populations.

Points
As an element of our response, several lessons were learned. While many are obvious--such as providing a strong ICS, extra support for special populations, better waste disposal, increased security, adequate staffing and services to provide for the needs of entire populations--one of the most important lessons recognised was the need for volunteers to have training in fundamental public health tenants, especially basic environmental sanitation.

Synthesis
The SWCPHP is in the process of describing educational and training curricula that may be presented to volunteer organizations and interested parties, along with dissemination techniques and strategies to enhance not only response effectiveness and efficiency, but to reduce the risk of exposure to volunteers.