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Cross Country TravCorps' Travelers Answer New Orleans' Cry for Help

While life has moved on in New Orleans, the streets are still silent. Behind the ghostly alleys the memories of over 300,000 displaced and scattered, former residents quietly whisper the echoes of a city that was. New Orleans is bound to become something new in the light of a post-Katrina nation, as much of the character has long since washed away with the receded flood waters.

Though the city's culture may be in danger of compromise, Ochsner Clinic Foundation stands like a sturdy flagpole in defiance of the storm. It is the North Star to many area nurses who stopped receiving paychecks from the hospitals by which they were employed on December 2, 2005. These nurses filled Ochsner's need to properly care for the growing number of patients transferred from hospitals too ill equipped to function in the aftermath of a national disaster.

According to the Orleans Parish Medical Society, there are currently an estimated 1,200 practicing physicians in the New Orleans metropolitan area, down from approximately 4,500 in the days before Katrina. In addition, Ochsner itself lost many healthcare professionals to the tragic outcomes of the storm and countless staff members who evacuated for individual reasons and did not return. With this fact posed as a searing reality, Ochsner also had to address the crisis facing its nursing staff as well as its staff as a whole.

While many nurses from other facilities throughout New Orleans did not initially seek employment at Ochsner there still remained desperate need of relief for the staff that worked tirelessly since Katrina hit. For this much-needed reprieve, Ochsner originally called on Cross Country TravCorps to fill 60 additional nursing positions. Overwhelmed by Cross Country's success in sending over 70 qualified applications from nurses willing to help, Ochsner decided to fill only the 30 positions remaining after area nurses sought to fill the gap.

Because they were one of few hospitals that continued to operate during the hurricane, Ochsner has carried much of the burden of the area's medical needs. Yet even with this responsibility weighing heavily on their shoulders, they still felt the obligation to maintain the high-quality level of care they are known for.

"In terms of patient care, we've been bursting at the seams, and are beyond pre-Katrina levels, whether we're talking about emergency services or inpatient services," said William Pinsky, M.D., executive vice-president and chief of academic medicine at Ochsner.

The hospital has remodeled and reopened two new units to accommodate the additional patient volume, but a lack of nurses and support personnel has limited their scope, Dr. Pinksy said.

Cross Country TravCorps had a tremendous response from their travelers overwhelmed by the need to take even a small part in the recovery process. "We had nurses who were asking since the storm hit what they could do to help, and now they have the opportunity... many have dropped everything to enter what could be categorized as a war zone", said Frank Shaffer, chief nursing officer of Cross Country Staffing. Sixty applications were sent to Ochsner in less than ten days, and all positions were successfully filled.

Rosella Gray, TELE Med/Surg RN, was the first traveler to arrive on the scene, "I left home on Sunday morning, December 11, 2005. I didn't know what to expect so I anticipated the worst. My assignment came four months after the hurricane. I was excited that I finally had the time to go to Louisiana and was given an opportunity to help."

Gray said the situation was dismal from the moment she left the airplane, "As we drove to the hospital there wasn't a lot of traffic. It felt unusual for an airport. We made our way through the small towns that looked deserted. Stores were closed, with few people walking on the street, and only a handful of cars. Roofs were covered with blue tarps, and FEMA trailers lined the streets and appeared on destroyed front lawns."

Though the city was left in shambles, Gray felt the sigh of relief that came from the Ochsner Clinic staff as they welcomed the travelers with open arms. "The staff nurses were very happy and appreciative that we were there to help. They thanked me many times and made me feel extremely welcome, like I had been there for years. The nurses on the unit were the best group of people that I have ever worked with," said Gray in reflection.

Still, housing was tight and many travelers who, unlike Cross Country TravCorps employees, were uninformed of the living quarters were upset to find they would be living in the hospital. Although accommodations were not the greatest, as many travelers were housed in a patient wing of the hospital which was converted to temporary staff housing, most were receptive and appreciative under the circumstances.

"People are forgetting that we are here post-Katrina," said Gray of the housing complaints. "It could have been worse, we could be in the Superdome with thousands of people. Ochsner did the best they could with what they had to offer."

Marianne O'Neill, Med/Surg RN, had a similar experience, "Even though the city was devastated, Oschner is a traveler's dream hospital. It's a beautiful facility, the staff was pleasant to work with, the patients were happy and with all the great travelers, it really felt like a sorority."

Many friendships were formed among the travelers and transplants to the facility. Most spent their free time together sharing experiences and exploring parts of the city that were being restored.

Of those relationships, Gray made some lasting friends with staff members who had been at Ochsner during the storm and through the worst of the aftermath. "She told me how she had to move patients out of their rooms to evacuate them to Baton Rouge," said Gray referring to one staff friend at Ochsner. "She described the horror as the hospital went into lock down, stating that they had to lie on the floor while being protected by the armed National Guard. People were breaking into the pharmacies and hospitals looking for drugs."

Not only did travelers hear stories from the staff, but also the patients. "One patient in particular was telling me how they were being transported out of the facility by MedVac and people were shooting at the helicopter," said Gray in consideration of the events that preceded her stay at Ochsner Clinic Foundation.

There were many instances in which emotional outcries from the victims of the events that followed the hurricane, compounded with the performance of each nurses' duties. Nurses served as the support system for people needing to share their experiences during some of New Orleans' darkest hours.

"I might not have been there for the worst of it but thanks to Cross Country [TravCorps] I did get a chance to help out in a small way," said Gray.

In addition to the personal satisfaction travelers received from helping out during an extreme national crisis, they also gained professional notoriety and skill.

O'Neill said she was received as an experienced nurse in a facility with high standards. "I was able to help design patient care, and in times of emergency it was accepted that I knew what I was doing. No questions were asked." Her experiences at Ochsner Clinic lead her to turn what started off as a 4-week assignment, into a 13-week stay.

This is an important note because as the city is restored, many residents are returning, adding to the need for the already depleted staff of healthcare professionals. The travelers who have decided to stay are helping out even more than they know.

The problem has been particularly acute in the emergency department, said Joseph Guarisco, M.D., Ochsner's chairman of emergency medicine.

"The growth in the healthcare availability in the city is not keeping up with the demand from the residents coming back into the city," Dr. Guarisco said. "The hospitals and the emergency departments that were open were really overwhelmed with patients, with long delays, and ambulances waiting and unable to get into the emergency department."

Mardi Gras continued it's annual celebration this year, however much smaller than before, in light of the bereaved to help bring some happiness to a depressed city. On the outside, it looks as if things are returning to normal, but there are still areas that remain unrecognizable. The celebration was only a bit of joy residents could use to remember their city and revive their culture.

"Lots of aspects of life in New Orleans are returning - whether you're looking for a restaurant, or dry cleaning, or healthcare. It seems as if over time we're starting to see a return to normality in terms of the availability of everything you need in life, including healthcare," Dr. Guarisco said.

"That's in the dry areas," he continued. "If you were in the areas that were flooded, nothing's happening. Nothing."

Despite the horrifying reality of a city stunned by excessive flooding, Cross Country TravCorps travelers were delighted with the facility in part because having been informed by their recruiters, they knew what to expect from the difficult situation they were about to embark upon. However, Ochsner Clinic Foundation went above and beyond to make travelers feel welcome. Everyone played a part, from the doctors to the janitors. With 18 Cross Country TravCorps travelers still remaining at Ochsner Clinic Foundation, the situation in New Orleans is undeniably an important event in these travelers' lives. To many of them, this will not only serve as a highlight of their career, this experience will highlight their life's memories for many years to come.

Cross Country TravCorps can only hope that the experience gained by travelers in New Orleans has fulfilled the reason they chose the nursing profession, and are pleased to have played a part in the recovery process.