Code Blue: A Katrina Physician's Memoir

by Richard E., M.d. Deichmann

A toxic stew of floodwaters surrounded Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans after Katrina when the levees broke. Over two thousand people were trapped in the squalid conditions without security as the death toll steadily rose inside. Bodies stacked up in the chapel as the temperature soared in the overcrowded hospital and the situation became increasingly desperate. Doctors, nurses, and staff worked around the clock, caring for those inside and trying to evacuate the facility, also known as Baptist Hospital. Allegations of euthanasia would later make headlines across the country and be investigated by state and local officials. Code A Katrina Physician's Memoir finally tells the inside story of the hellish nightmare those who struggled to survive the ordeal were cast into. Dr. Richard Deichmann, the hospital's chief of medicine and one of the leaders of the evacuation, gives his compelling account of the rapidly deteriorating state of affairs at the hospital. He takes us through the daily horrors and numbing disappointments. This gripping tale of survival, despite betrayal and abandonment by the authorities, may change forever the way you view the threat of a mass disaster.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Health Care

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a first person account of what happened in a New Orlean's hospital after the levees broke. I could not put this book down. It should be read by everyone who works in a hospital and in emergency management to help them anticipate problems that might arise. It should also be read by those who were in impossible situations in New Orleans at that time.

[Nina]

15 years on and I still get chills reading personal accounts

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well written. Great book to share with my nursing assistant students.

[Delway Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing book has been recommended to me several times and I finally sat down to read it. I was not disappointed. Much of the near time sci-fi being written and filmed concerns a dystopian future. This book is about the dystopian now. Written by an MD who was head of the medicine department at Baptist Hospital in New Orleans during the catastrophe that was Hurricane Katrina. The scope of the disaster, its sudden onset, the incompetence of both the federal and local governments (in particular the police), the heroism of the medical staff and other individuals who helped sustain and then evacuate over 2000 people over 5 days reads like fiction. The individual stories stand out such as one man and his son who drove from Texas towing their flat bottomed fishing boat who showed up at the submerged ER ramp of the hospital because "they just wanted to help," form indelible images in the reader's mind. This story also reminds us that in the modern world where subsistence seems a historical anachronism, we are a very short step from chaos.

[april lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.....

I found this book to be raw, effective, and an up close account of what occurred during that horrific week. Thousands of lives were needlessly lost, many of them the elderly and the infirm. Such an epic failure on the part of the government. Thanks to the heroic and heroine efforts of the administrators, staff, and volunteers many lives were saved.

[Margot · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really very interesting to hear the Baptist Hospital horror story told from a doctor's perspective. I also appreciated that Deichmann wrote it himself, however better editing would have been useful. There were quite a few grammar errors.

[Diane]

They say "healthcare is a higher calling". This book proves the sense of responsibility healthcare workers feel for those in need. As an institution Baptist Hospital extended its responsibility to the neighborhood. Amazing.

[Mary Beaudry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a horrifying account of what transpired at Baptist during Katrina. I am reading this for a Community Health class that I am teaching, but quickly got drawn in to the real-life accounts of the horror patients and staff encountered.

[Drea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for everyone - a sad moment in our country's history. Great writing on a hospital during Hurricane Katrina.

[Bruce Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gripping tale and a must read for healthcare professionals, emergency response, and anyone who lives in areas vulnerable to hurricanes.