Voices of Angels: Disaster Lessons from Katrina Nurses - Softcover

Gail Tumulty

3.43

7 ratings by Goodreads

9781455621231: Voices of Angels: Disaster Lessons from Katrina Nurses

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1455621234 ISBN 13: 9781455621231

Publisher: Pelican Publishing Co. (US), 2015

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New Orleans nurses speak out about the storm. When thousands fled in the face of Hurricane Katrina, nurses stayed at their posts in New Orleans hospitals to care for their patients. Facing unimaginable conditions, these professionals went without supplies, sleep, communications, and air conditioning as they overcame obstacles to save lives. The nurses interviewed come from healthcare organizations including Charity Hospital, Tulane Medical Center, Ochsner Medical Center, and the Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge. They paint a stark picture of systemic failures with catastrophic effects. The authors, experts in nursing and disaster response, offer analysis and recommendations for healthcare institutions nationwide.

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From the Back Cover:

"When the floodwaters deluged New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, many hundreds of nurses stayed with their patients, marooned in flood-ravaged hospitals, working despite unspeakable conditions. A compelling historical chronicle of Katrina and its aftermath, this book gives us the vivid voices of some of the disaster's unsung heroes."
--Carolyn Perry, author of For Better, For Worse: Patient in the Maelstrom

"Where do angels come from? When Katrina slammed New Orleans into the ICU . . . these steely, self-sacrificing creatures from heaven took charge. . . . This book, . . . with the perspective only time provides, informs us how such disasters can be prevented in the future."
--James Nolan, author of Higher Ground and You Don't Know Me: New and Selected Stories

Coauthors John R. Batty and Gail Tumulty interviewed dozens of nurses and healthcare workers after Hurricane Katrina and presented their findings at the American Nurses' Association conference. In those interviews, collected in this volume, the nurses spoke about their experiences caring for patients at New Orleans hospitals and medical centers, including the Veterans Affairs Hospital, Charity Hospital, University Hospital, and Ochsner Medical Center. Batty and Tumulty's additional lessons and disaster preparedness plans make this book an invaluable resource for healthcare professionals and consumers who need their care and a testament to the character of the men and women who worked under these incredible circumstances.

An award-winning educator, Tumulty passed away in 2015, shortly after completing this book. Batty is a respected disaster management expert and an experienced psychiatric nurse. He lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Front-cover photograph: Acadian Air Med helicopter during evacuation of Tulane Medical Center in the aftermath of Katrina. Light poles were removed to create a makeshift helipad. (Courtesy Acadian Air Med)

About the Author:

Gail Tumulty was professor emeritus of the Healthcare Systems Management Graduate Nursing Program at Loyola University New Orleans, which she developed and implemented. In her long nursing and management career she received a Nursing Excellence Award from the Ochsner Foundation, a Merit Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement, and an American Organization of Nurse Executives Research Scholar Award. Tumulty passed away before the publication of this book. John R. Batty is an experienced psychiatric nurse who interviewed the nurses who treated patients during and after Hurricane Katrina. He and co-author Gail Tumulty presented the nurses' experiences at the American Nurses' Association conference. Batty's research into hospital conditions and evacuations has made him a respected expert in disaster management. Batty, a former writer for First NBC Bank, lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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