Emergency Physician Rhiana Ireland Helps Hundreds in the Wake of Harvey

When Harvey hit, I found out that the small church near me had volunteered to take in 100 people. The church is an official Red Cross center, and the only one for League City, Texas. Initially, they were only able to send three volunteers to staff it. This city has over 100,000 people in it.  When people searched for a place to go, this church was the only one listed for the entire city and they poured in. So I decided to offer my services as an emergency physician. We had 200 cots, so the church agreed to take 200 people.   Like the rain, what started in drips turned into a torrent of people: soaking wet, clutching a garbage bag of heirlooms in one hand and a shivering dog in the other. As we began getting more and more evacuees, we were told that the Red Cross was going to turn the small shelter into an evacuation center. That meant we had to remove the cots so that capacity could double to 400. Once this was done, the Red Cross would then begin busing people out.   Soon enough, we had 780 people with us. They arrived by boat, flatbed truck, and by the busload. Some people had been in chest-deep water for hours.  Some were pulled off roofs by the “Cajun navy.” We set up clinic areas, towel-off stations, an infant room and a dog room. The church and the small group of volunteers kept everything together.
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Major Incidents Patient Care News Source Type: news