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Runge and Bouvier view damage in Mississippi. | Jeffrey Runge, MD, chief medical officer for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and J. Bennet Walters, DHA, deputy director of executive programs for the Department of Health Policy and Administration at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, visited parts of Louisiana and Mississippi that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina on a tour December 15, hosted by NAEMT President Ken Bouvier. The doctors saw the destruction firsthand and visited with local responders. They also had an opportunity to thank the emergency responders for all their hard work and dedication during this difficult time.
Runge and Walters visited the temporary Charity Hospital in New Orleans and took an aerial tour that flew over the Superdome, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the New Orleans levee breaks. The men also took a driving tour of New Orleans and flew over Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes.
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The group stopped at AMR Headquarters in Gulfport, Mississippi, to visit with Mississippi EMTs, paramedics and emergency management officials. | New Orleans EMS Director Jullette Saussy, MD; New Orleans EMS Deputy Director Mark Reis; and Matt Kallmyer of New Orleans EMS/ Homeland Security Liaison, also accompanied Runge and Walters on their tour of New Orleans. Later, the group flew by helicopter to AMR Headquarters in Gulfport, Mississippi, to visit with Mississippi EMTs, paramedics and emergency management officials. They also toured the hardest-hit areas of Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.
“Both doctors witnessed firsthand the amount of devastation along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi,” said Bouvier. “They both realized that a lot of federal support will be needed in this region to help rebuild.”
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Runge and Bouvier view damage to Dr. Jullette Saussy's house in New Orleans. | Bouvier added that both Runge and Walters got to hear real stories, first hand from EMTs and paramedics who struggled for days to rescue thousands of people while struggling to survive themelves with little food, water and resources in the first few days. “They got to visit the homes of responders that lost everything to the flood but continue to report to work everyday,” he said. “They heard stories from responders about how they are still separated from the families because of lack of housing and schools.”
The doctors also learned about things that worked well and things that need to be addressed to be better prepared for natural disasters and major incidents, Bouvier said, including but not limited to quicker federal response, improved interoperability communications, large-scale medical resources and the need for more preplanning and drills.
“The visit went very well from NAEMT’s perspective,” said Bouvier. “During dinner on Wednesday night, we discussed the NAEMT EMS Rescuer & Relief Fund, some future projects in EMS, the Scope of Practice, FICEMS, Dr. Runge’s roles and responsibilities within DHS, preparation and training for major incidents and events and training in Incident Command, Unified Command and NIMS.”
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