Nursing in the Storm - Springer Publishing

6 Nursing in the Storm: Voices from Hurricane Katrina
The fourth hospital, built during the following 5 years after that fire,
was relocated to Canal Street, then actually swampland that sat next to
the cemeteries. This hospital was considered a very large facility then,
providing care for 120 patients, but after several years, it was found to
have deplorable conditions (Salvaggio, 1992).
Due to the enormous increase in the city’s population, a fifth Charity
Hospital was built in 1833. This fifth hospital—because of its size, physical
structure, and number of beds—was considered a city landmark (Salvaggio,
1992). The sixth and current Charity Hospital was built in 1939
at its present site on Tulane Avenue after a personal visit from President
Theodore Roosevelt. The new Charity Hospital opened with 2,650 beds,
along with a 14-floor school of nursing. It was the second oldest hospital
in the country at the time, and the oldest continuously operating hospital
bearing the same name in the United States (Salvaggio, 1992).
Caring for the indigent, whether native born or European immigrants,
and responding to the needs of the public has been the mission
of Charity Hospital since its founding. Over the years, Charity Hospital
had faced lingering financial pressures, political favoritism, problems
with poor staffing, overcrowding, an unsanitary environment, and poor
or nonexistent equipment and supplies. Being governed by many authorities,
including the Daughters of Charity and the state, also placed
pressures on the hospital, compromising its work for the community that
it served.
University Hospital was opened as Hotel Dieu Hospital in 1859,
over 100 years after Charity Hospital. It was founded, owned, and operated
by the Daughters of Charity, an American order of nuns affiliated
with Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton of France. The name Hotel Dieu
means “House of God” in French. Hotel Dieu kept its doors open and
operational during the Civil War and through two yellow fever epidemics
(University Hospital, 1996–2007).
A new Hotel Dieu Hospital was built in 1924 and, in 1972, was replaced
with another new building, still located on Perdido Street in New
Orleans. In 1992, Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards requested that
the Daughters of Charity sell Hotel Dieu to the state. At that time, Hotel
Dieu Hospital was renamed University Hospital (University Hospital,
1996–2007).
The Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans (MCLNO; both
Charity and University hospitals) suffered major destruction due to Hurricane
Katrina in August 2005. Both campuses were closed after Katrina,
which resulted in a major loss in health care services for the underserved