Five Days At Memorial: Life AND Death In A Storm-Ravaged Hospital Essay Example

Introduction

When calamity strikes, people usually rely on hospitals and other health facilities to serve as a place of refuge. However, in some cases, like what happened in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans killing hundreds of people and total damages amounting to billions of dollars. Almost 80% of the New Orleans were covered with flood, making it the largest residential disaster in the history of the United States.

Reflections from the Book “Five Days at Memorial”

Prologue
After reading the prologue of the book, several questions race through my mind. Among those questions include the decision that prompted doctors to evacuate the very sick patients last on the merits that their chance for survival is very slim. Everyone should be given the equal right to live and no one should be excluded from this right. Another thing that made me question was the level of obligation that health professionals have for their patients. In cases of life and death, is it okay to think of one’s personal safety given their obligation to their family and self, or should their vow to ensure the health and wellness of their patients should come first as part of their professional obligation. Hurricane Katrina has allowed the Americans to think of their individual roles during cases of calamity. Furthermore, they learned how to designate the task in case something happened which demands prompt decision to be made. They should set a criteria for decision-making and not make decisions based on their own prejudices.

Chapter 1

Over the years, the Memorial Medical Center has always been a haven for residents. They thought of the hospital as a shelter and a place for refuge. The strong commitment and dedication of the attending health professionals with the support and dedication of the community served as the strength of the institution to withstand the effects of numerous calamities that afflicted the city.

Chapter 2

LifeCare nursing director Gina Isabell was a very steadfast nurse who values her patient above herself. She was also very vigilant and determined. She never lose heart even when the situation was already tough. Isabell was very systematic and organized and seemed to be very well trained for emergency situations.

Chapter 3

Memorial Medical Center had always have issues relating to discrimination. In fact, from 1979 to 1980 there had been complaints that the hospital have discriminatory practices, particularly violating the policies set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. On the other hand, as far as Susan Muldrich is concerned, she had a good foresight of the situation. Unlike the other physician, she wanted the sickest patients on life support to be evacuated first to a safer place given the risk. However, when other physicians called her off for her recommendations instead of standing up for her belief, she immediately back-out. Overall, the hospital has become to overly confident that they can handle the situation believing that they always have in the past. Unfortunately, they failed to anticipate the gravity of Hurricane Katrina. On a different light, Dr. Anna Pou was not who she might seem to be at first glance. However, her determination and her “never-surrender-attitude” is what keeps her ahead of her game. She was very aggressive at working to prove her self-worth. However, in her earnest desire to succeed, she takes challenges alone and refuses to take other people’s help.

Work Cited

Fink, S. (2013). Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital. New York: Crown/Archetype.