Many of you know that part of my calling as a physician is participating in medical disaster response. I was first convicted about this issue in response to the 9/11 attacks. That fateful day was a wake-up call for physicians as well as the general population. I knew at that time that physicians, nurses, paramedics, and virtually all types of health care workers would be on the very front line of any mass casualty event. At that time, our greatest concern was either bio-terrorism or nuclear/radiologic terrorism. So that America’s health care system would be better prepared the AMA and CDC jointly developed specialized training for working mass casualty events based on the model of basic and advanced life support. Unfortunately, medical school and residency programs were and are unable to dedicate the time it takes for training young doctors how to respond to such attacks.
I was fortunate to be able to take the very first course as it was conducted at one of our AMA meetings. I did indeed pass the course and became certified in “disaster life support”. As you well know, we have thankfully had no successful terrorist attacks on the Homeland since 9/11 and thus this training has not been put to the test for such situations. However, a catastrophic mass casualty event did occur on 12-26-04 known as “the tsunami”. As I heard the testimonies of physicians who had been caught in this tragedy and the great work they did to serve the people of the Indian Ocean rim, I was struck with the thought that my mass casualty training could also be used for natural disasters. After all, the power of nature far overshadows that of our enemies. With a few inquiries through the Mississippi Baptist Convention disaster leadership, I was placed on a team that worked in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. This was the first and hardest hit area within the tsunami zone. Indeed, the excellent training I had received was invaluable in working effectively in this environment. I was honored to have had the opportunity to serve God in this manner.
Then one year ago another catastrophic natural disaster occurred, but this time on our own shores. That event was Hurricane Katrina. Interestingly, we had already been discussing the need for a faith based medical response team for any type of a large-scale disaster. We just never imagined that our first true test would be in Mississippi. Because of the obvious medical needs of our own people, we formed the first and only medical response unit attached to the main team of a Southern Baptist disaster team. This made us a new breed of animal in the world of disaster response, but the important issue was that we were part of the coordinated response to the Katrina disaster. That simply meant that we submitted to the incident commanders who were responsible for seeing the big picture and we went where they told us to go rather than just showing up unexpectedly. The true heart of America’s health care workers shined forth as we had volunteer doctors and nurses from all over the country that came down to work with us. What a blessing they were to us all, and they helped make the medical response a success being attached to the main effort as discussed. Now our plan is to train as many physicians, nurses, and lay people as possible to maintain a prepared and organized “strike force” that can respond anywhere in the world or at home. Also, to be ready to work as a mainly medical response team as we did in Indonesia or part of an overall disaster response team as we did for Katrina.
Because of this experience, I feel somewhat qualified to address the issue of disaster preparedness. First of all, the loss of life in both of these events had to do with sub-optimal evacuation of the population. Of course, with the tsunami there was no evacuation as there was no early warning system in place at that time. With Katrina, there was ample warning and an evacuation order given, but these are always voluntary and there are always risk takers who try to ride out the storm. Another significant group, which was not evacuated before the storm, was those without their own means of transportation. This mainly impacted the New Orleans area and certainly caused serious human suffering. The overall disaster response by the various NGO’s such as the big three comprised of the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Southern Baptists did a great job. I was very impressed with the level of cooperation among these groups and how they intentionally worked to be as effective and efficient as possible in supplying hot meals, medical attention, shelter, and clothing/personal items for those in need. In my opinion, this was a definite successful response that is still on going.
However, in contrast to the praise of the impacted population for the faith based NGO’s, there was and is harsh criticism regarding the governmental response via FEMA. In this regard I do not feel qualified to give an expert opinion. Obviously, there were major problems including security, post-event evacuation, and general physical support by the government. However before rushing to judgment, we must remember that Katrina was unique in the history of disasters in America including its scope of affected area, cost of damage incurred, and general devastation. In fact, many areas of the Mississippi Gulf Coast closely resembled the tsunami zone in Indonesia. There really was no previous experience with a Katrina level event, and operating based on the “business as usual model” did not work. We as a society must look at alternative means of evacuation and overall response. This will have to come out of intense study of the event and absolutely must be done, as there will be other similar or even worse disasters.
What I am confident in is the willingness and ability of believers called to serve Christ in this manner to respond when and where they are needed. I suspect that the most important reason for the success of the faith based NGO’s like we had little to do with our talents. We can truly than God for his calling together through the power of the Holy Spirit those individuals with the right spiritual gifts, training, and talent for such a response. Also, we witnessed many incidents of supernatural intervention. Unfortunately FEMA does not have similar resources and therefore we take no credit but give all glory to God for what He accomplished through His sovereign will. Please continue to pray for the victims and those who are still volunteer workers in the Katrina zone, and there is still great need for financial support in addition to the labor force requirements.
God bless you all and I pray that you remain safe from disaster.
Dr. Dan Edney
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