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Article: A market doubles--overnight; Baton Rouge hospitals face unprecedented planning and logistical challenges.(Commentary)(Column)
- Article from:
- Modern Healthcare
- Article date:
- October 3, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: William Holman
As Hurricane Katrina brewed in the Gulf of Mexico during the final days of August, more than a million people fled the New Orleans area. Hundreds of thousands found shelter in my community of Baton Rouge, La., just 50 miles northwest of the devastated Crescent City. In the days after Katrina's landfall, Baton Rouge was overwhelmed as tens of thousands more people were evacuated, including critically ill patients in desperate need of medical care.
In the blink of an eye, everything changed for Baton Rouge, including the long-term future of our healthcare system. Immediately our community became the front line of defense in the first ...