I was a psych nurse in Baton Rouge during Katrina. Lord, when they needed Big Charity the most. Things weren't any better for us in Baton Rouge, we had all of the New Orleans patients plus ours all right here. I remember staying at work 10 days straight, not knowing about my own family. My patients had no, food, water, medicines, or bedding. My hospital had no power for 30 days and I never saw the first emergency generator. Our patients from New Orleans, just laid straight on the wet nasty floors. Those that lost family, friends, homes, and jobs had so little emotional and medical help at that time. Nothing I ever want to see again. The tears rolled for months afterwards. Even years later, now after seeing this.
That sounds absolutely horrific 😢. Thank you for sticking it out with the people in spite of the terrible conditions. Many would give up and be on to find their own family but you took your commitment to your patients seriously 🥰Bless you ❤
Wow! They never tell those horror stories on the news! Thank you so much for all you do. Nursing is one of the most difficult jobs on the planet, with so much less recognition and support that you deserve. May the Universe shine its gifts upon you~✨☄🎆
I was very recently in the hospital at Tulane across from Charity and my patient care tech worked at Charity during Katrina and the things she told me she experienced were jaw droppingly horrifying. She said if it wasn't for documentaries like this nobody would know what they all went through both patients AND staff.
My aunt worked in EMS at the time of Katrina Many doctors were forced into incredibly difficult situations. We were forgotten. Tulane got evacuated first they left big charity and mercy hospital both with critical patients ALONE. Some doctors had to euthanize patients they couldn't evac or move to higher floors, alligators were getting into buildings trying to escape the storm, people outside were killing each other trying to reach out hospitals just for the government to fly over us in blackhawks
@@riflescientist1744years ago I wouldn’t have believed this. Now, I disgustingly know that what you are saying is true. Our government failed in every way possible. People need to be in prison for murder.
New Orleans resident here… the scars on the community continue to this day. There are so many deep in addiction and critical mental health that are still dying from a few corrupt individuals. I’ve seen the proof, we still NEED Charity.
West Jeff native here, you are absolutely right charity was one of our arteries and the new charity doesn't even fill a single shoe Big Charity was able to give us She was our cities guardian
I was born in Charity Hospital 70 years ago. My mother had traveled from Vermont to Louisiana to deliver me in a military installation hospital. She wanted to be with my Dad who was stationed in the Army down there. When her labor began, there was no open bed for her at the planned hospital. She was taken in to Charity where the as they were called Gray Ladies helped her deliver me.
The sheer audacity the State had to say that the Hospital wasn’t usable but they were absolutely fine with those Drs and Nurses making do in ill equipped convention centers and department stores speaks volumes.
And it was fine all those years before making the best of an ill equipped situation. 10-20 patients on wards, no privacy 24/7. Just greed at its finest.
@@tinawindham6958 100%. As usual profit before patient. The money they spent on the new hospital could have been used at the old hospital to cover those patients who didn’t have insurance
This brings back so many tears. I was a new RN when this happened. Although I did work in the city, I didn’t work at Charity and Katrina was my off week. I lived about 40 minutes away and watched helplessly as everyone else did from TV. So close, yet so far. I wanted to help, but there was nothing any of us outside of the city could do. You could sense the suffering from miles away. Horrible. Still shocking. We took care of many of these patients afterwards, and we absorbed the nurses as well. The stories we heard were things I’d never thought I’d hear. It’s amazing how a civilized city can be turned on its head within 24 hrs.
Same!! I’m a native and never knew the extent of what happened. I 100% believe the state and LSU concocted a plan to erect a new hospital. They were determined to do it. That just shows you how much of a force these “big dogs” are and the disgusting lengths they go to for greed. From staff, to patients, to those home owners. I’m honestly upset.
Two days ago I was saying how healthcare is no longer rewarding after 26 yrs then I watched this. I cried like a new born baby god bless every last one of them.😢
I've been sitting here for several minutes now with my fingers on the keyboard trying to come up with the words to describe what I'm feeling and the thoughts that are running through my head after watching this. I am disgusted, I am appalled, I am outraged. How "certain people" can sit there with smiles on their faces and talk about how glorious that new hospital is and how state of the art it is I DON'T GIVE A RIP I'd like to rip those smiles right off their greedy disgusting faces. That new hospital doesn't represent healthcare to me. Instead it represents greed, and lack of empathy for all the lives they have destroyed. It represents once again powerful people who line their pockets while trampling over everyone else to get what THEY want because no one else matters but THEMSELVES. They make me truly sick.
I couldn’t agree more. You said it well. Such a sad story nothing good came out of, its all changed for the worse and so many people could do nothing but watch it happen. So many so proud of the fact they were born or worked at Charity.
I hope in their time of need, the hospital and the system fails them, after all, everyone involved deserves to have done to them, what they have done to do many.
I as a nurse know your feelings. Years later I see truth. This! Destroyed the best teachings in La. Charity was great to go to. When you work with employees, medical staff...they teach me even more. 19 years of nursing....and I can learn from them...This is where healthcare is headed
This needs WAY more views. What fantastic dualism: the doctors, nurses and staff fighting to keep people alive through a disaster only to have the government, politicians and business people destroy it and shutter it then greed and fight FEMA for money for a new (un-needed) hospital. You couldn't paint humanity any better than this documentary does.
I'm in Texas about 100 miles NW of Houston, but I'm sharing this on my FB page.. More people DO need to know about this criminal malfeasance !.. Sb Smith
I cannot believe what those corporate imbeciles did. They couldn’t reopen Charity bc it would “get in the way” of their goal of receiving more $,& opening a huge corporation of health care. The fact that they built it over the just recovered neighborhood.. sickening to the core. To the team of courageous workers who NEVER stopped-even in the face of unbelievable challenges during that hurricane- THANK U. You are the true heroes of this story!
When a hospital like this is shuttered, it impacts numerous lives. As a healthcare worker, I have experienced this firsthand. Hospitals are so much more than buildings. They are communities with families working in them. Countless memories are connected with them. The last hospital I worked in was shut down and bulldozed into the ground. I have not been able to drive past that site to this day.
As a nurse I can’t imagine what these doctors, nurses, ancillary staff and patients went through at this time. Much respect! Shame on those who chose not to reopen Charity!
Me either. When the one woman's father showed up in a boat, I cried so hard. I couldn't even imagine leaving your daughter there. That's a feeling I would spend a lifetime trying to forget. We are so lucky they were willing to talk about it. THANK YOU to you everyone that spoke up in this documentary, heroes.
There was a great Hulu show based on a better audiobook / book about those 5 days immediately following Katrina at Charity - gives me chills thinking about how hard that must have been for those MDs and nurses who stayed to provide care despite the city leaving them behind
@@AnEye4AI That was not Charity. It was Memorial. Five Days at Memorial. Not on Hulu, on Apple TV+ for anyone who wants to watch. Highly recommend. But the book is worth reading, the show can only capture so much.
This brought tears to my eyes...I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, but I have so many memories of Charity Hospital. My family received health care there. I remember driving from BR to NOLA for my great grandma and chasing pigeons on the steps and getting Burger King around the way. This is heart breaking and so sad that it happened in a place that I love so dearly.
Bless those doctors and nurses and all other staff. Imagine being a patient, awake and on a ventilator when the power went out. Just to look up and see someone just as scared and confused but they get to work helping you anyway. As an asthmatic who is hospitalized regularly, I am thankful beyond words for medical professionals like them.
Several times from 15 minutes on the video says people on ventilators were awake and being bagged to breathe. One man grabbed the bag and was squeezing it himself.
@@LuvFearlessly Sorry for the novel- I’m an ICU nurse. You’re sedated at first when you are intubated. How long they keep you sedated and how sedated they keep you depends on the situation. If they’re a neuro patient, I have to do a neuro assessment every 1-2 hours. For other patients, I have to do a neuro assessment that’s included in my full assessment every 4 hours. To get an accurate assessment, sedation has to be paused or weaned. For most, except in certain circumstances, the goal is a RASS score of -2 (lightly sedated, wakes up to voice with eye contact). There are instances where we keep people more heavily sedated. Examples of these situations include agitation that could cause the patient to harm themselves, agitation that interferes with their synchrony/compliance with the ventilator, preventing shivering during targeted temperature management (TTM) post-arrest, increased intracranial pressure (ICP) when stimulated, adequate sedation or BIS score for paralyzing & proning, etc. Aside from the exceptions, the goal is for the patient to be somewhat alert, but comfortable. I personally feel terrible when someone is awake at all on the ventilator, but I understand why we have to do it. If you don’t get frequent quality neuro assessments, neuro changes that could indicate a problem such as a stroke could be missed. Also, sedation wears off differently and in varying amounts of time for everyone. So as far as assessing goes, it’s not always as easy as heavily sedating them and then just pausing for the exam. For that reason, lighter sedation is more reliable and may possibly reduce delirium.
THIS DOCUMENTARY WAS AMAZING AND HEARTBREAKING. So well done. Never have I watched something that filled me with so much faith in humanity and at the same time question it. I hurt for those people Louisiana lost while CEOs and politicians played monopoly.
Same old same old. Not thinking about the people but about money, money, money. I now live in Baton Rouge, La., but I used to live in New Orleans and I never knew any of this. This was a great video, a sad video but very informative.
@@freedomishavingachoice3020 This video blew my mind! The suffering and the dedication of these health care workers was beyond belief. And the callous disregard for both left me stunned.
I'm an RN and one of my nursing instructors 35 yrs. ago was trained at Charity. She spoke of it fondly. What a sad story. I have the utmost respect for all the nurses, doctors, and staff who went through that whole experience.
Sadly, I'm not shocked. I've worked in healthcare for 15 years, and the levels of corruption, the cruelty to patients and staff is unconscionable. I've seen it all. It's all about the money and power. Kudos to the people that stood up for what's right, and a curse on the sellout doctors and management who went along to enrich themselves.
pierogi. Ty for ur truthful post here. With all that has been going on with the cv nonsense I feel the same as you. I will never get the jab . The post jab injuries are increasing as I write this. I do nonstop research on many things. God bless you for being truthful on the atrocity committed against the people. Our controllers have no respect whatsoever for our citizens and not even for the medical personnel. Another atrocity the government has foisted upon us.
I've been taking care of people since 1978 been a Rn since 2008. Now you can't even take credit of people, it's all about insurance and not the people. I refuse to work for any facilities. I only do private home care.. May Yah bless us all. Love and light to everyone
I am vaccinated and have zero side effects other than being protected. My husband is not vaccinated and he got pneumonia, was in the hospital for a week, out of work on oxygen for nine months and is now on an inhaler for life. The vaccine works.
I get the shivers thinking about some of these stories and the people working together and caring for each other. This is the Louisiana im proud of being from.
This is so sad and maddening to me. All those dedicated military and doctors and nurses had it ready to go but MONEY and EGO took over again in the city of New Orleans. Plus the fact they could have upgraded the hospital for millions less than it took to build a new place is just sad.
The whole world watched in horror as the US government failed New Orleans. We were mortified as NO was left to suffer. It was unbelievable how slow to action the US gov was. But now, to discover this, I’m beyond speechless 😢 The Charity Hospital debacle was sinful 😒
Well said!!! I was forever changed. I could not believe that we would just let our own people born and raised here...in USA just have a slow death. It was heart wrenching. I never thought my country was perfect. But not that bad either. Well, the US showed us the true face. So sad.
When referring to tearing down someone's HOME, some that were built by their family members 125 years ago..."those people were INCONVENIENCED, but most people will agree it's highly favorable to the city." INCONVENIENCED?! Are you serious?! That's the word he chose? Can you imagine? Coming home, repair your home from Katrina, just to have it demolished a couple of years later to build a hospital that no body but the greedy higher-ups wanted. Then for that heart breaking, life shattering moment in your life to be referred to as an inconvenience! The drive thru messing up my order, a hole in your sock, or being stuck in traffic is a minor inconvenience, not losing the only home you've ever known! 🤯😮💨😬😑😵
Google Larry Hollier. He’s finally been called out and forced to resign as Chancellor of LSU in New Orleans. Can you believe he’s a practicing vascular surgeon in the same hospital where his crimes were committed? And that he’s not been punished for his actions??
What an absolute world class documentary on the political and immoral as well as the sacred and the incredible history.. great job gathering the stories and creating a journey
I was born and raised in Baton Rouge. We had a Charity Hospital in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. So many people can’t afford healthcare. It’s a shame that there aren’t more hospitals like that. Closing them has hurt so many people.
Mercy!!! I worked at Charity in the OB / GYN Clinic as an HIV Counselor. Also had my Mental Health Patients admitted to 3rd Floor through the Coroner's Office. This is still emotional. New hospital built but heart breaks for Displaced Families. What the patients that the City and Establishment Forgot leaves me speechless. The dedication and selflessness of the Medical Professionals after Hurricane Katrina is Tearjerking. I can only think that they have PTSD and hope Counseling and Support was provided for them.
Every person responsible for shutting down a functional hospital in the middle of that tragedy need prosecuted. How can can someone look at all that suffering and only think of profit!?!
This event was the very beginning of the end of my nursing career. . I oretired early. Really against my will. Prayers and blessings to the professionals who worked through this disaster. It was a turning point in the US Healthcare system.
The simple truth is that the city of NOLA and LSU wanted a pretty, new building and the storm was a perfect excuse. Instead of fixing and renovating a building that has proved itself to be able to stand the worst of the worst storms with minimal (if any) damage they chose to displace a huge number of their population and destroy blocks of historic homes all for the sake of greed and vanity.......MAKES ME SICK! The people of New Orleans are the kindest, most welcoming, fun people you'll ever meet and they deserve so much better.
Horrendous. The staff were incredible and all of the emergency responders, who value life above all else. It's sad to think that your WEALTH is your HEALTH, . There needs to be more hospitals and services for ESSENTIAL SERVICES such as this hospital. I think that the more advanced we get, the more backwards our government become.
Im a New Orleans Native. I wanna Thank all the doctors, nurses and anyone who helped this hospital run. Everytime i come home and drive downtown o drive by charity. Hope they fix it up and not tear it down its a historical building. #NewOrleanslivesinme!
This makes me so mad! Shame on the big wigs of New Orleans that spent 10 yrs & put getting the money to build their modern hospital above the needs of the people they were supposed to be caring for when so many people were in need after Katrina & then to make matters worse they didn't think twice about putting people out of their home just to get what they wanted. To all those people who needed help but didn't get it I'm truly sorry.
I think it is tragic that the huge art deco building was not renovated.. Charity Hospital provided services of all medical needs and was an excellent training Hospital for doctors and nurses. And for people to lose their homes unnecessary. The indigent will sure
l absolutely agree. beautiful architecture, rich history, on an incredible scale… run by the daughters of charity… it’s tragic that these religious orders - women who devote their lives to nothing but serving their neighbor, with a vow of poverty, no family but their patients and sisters in religious life - have been similarly killed off within the catholic church (of which i’m a rightfully dissenting member, ha!) which no longer wants to serve the people in any meaningful way in this day and age when there’s so much need for such devoted and caring nurses without profit motive but working for their faith and love of neighbor 😢
Even after a consultants study showed it could be renovated and brought up to 21st century standards in as little as 3 years they still chose to abandon it. Sad
"of which i’m a rightfully dissenting member" That's exactly how I feel. I was born and raised Roman Catholic and I will always be Catholic but I quit attending mass over 15 years ago. I see a lot of posers and Catholics locally who are trying to buy their way into heaven and there are just mean and hateful people (even in my own family) who claim to be Catholic and they are selfish and so materialistic and I don't want to be anywhere around any of them. @@marguerilla
When I lived down there for 27 years, I can tell you that This was one of the worst things to happen after Katrina imaginable. They should have reopened that hospital.
I’m literally at a loss for words the greed is sickening it was never about the people. THANK YOU TO THOSE HEALTHCARE WORKERS for all that they do and did this broke my heart! Shame on those that didn’t allow charity to be reopened !!! 😢😢😢😢
I grew up in New Orleans. My brother had asthma. I spent many nights there with my mother and my brother trying to get his symptoms to subside. It was a charity doctor that his attacks were triggered by his allergies to dogs. My brother loves his dog. Both my nieces were born there. Thank God I WENT BACK FOR A VISIT BEFORE KATRINA
The staff from this facility are the exact ones I want to care for me and my loved ones, even on their worst day! Our facility closed as well with only a 30 days notice, so I get it. I am still mad because all of our patients had to go somewhere else or no longer seeked treatment for their needs. And the fact we were only one of two trauma centers in the city, smh...lifelong disabilities have increased as well as death. This film was wonderfully made. When it comes to money, corporations and the government do NOT care whatsoever...they will allow many to die to get their way. Majority of us didn't become a part of the healthcare system for this.
So sad and bloody disgraceful what happened to Charity Hospital.. All about business, big bucks and politics in the end. These wonderful doctors and nurses etc are truly amazing 👏 and what they tried to do to keep Charity going went over and beyond dedication.
I worked at Southern baptist hospital in the 70’s. Everyone who lived there, their whole lives & they always talked about “the big one” meaning a hurricane, coming someday. I had since then moved up to Massachusetts, & my heart just went out to the whole city. I hadn’t lived there very long but all those folks had a special bond, the music, the Marci Gras, the special food, there’s no other city like it. I read about the nurses & doctors that remained at Charity hospital, working for days and days & nights, but since nurses & Drs take their job very seriously, it’s our duty to stay & help. The closest thing I came to an emergency was a blizzard that hit the northeast. I had to get to work & was taken to my hospital by a policeman in his car. My husband thought I was crazy. He had no idea that it was my duty to help out. When my shift was over, I actually got back home at my normal time. He was amazed that I actually got home. This was husband #1. He would never understand, to help out without getting anything in return. But I did get back quite a bit. I know that my patients were so glad to get helped. That was enough for me. I’ve seen that neighborhoods are still needing to be rebuilt, but was so happy to see that Marci Gras came back in little bits. The French Quarter has to come back. And I knew it’s already coming back It breaks my heart, that the Charity hospital has become a political football. I read an article about this hospital & many very difficult choices that had to be made when the power went off & patients who were on ventilators, were kept alive manually until they had to just make a hard choice to stop venting these folks & they had to let them die. They had no choice. The patients were given an injection to basically euthanize them. And after folks got wind of this, they wanted to prosecute the drs. I haven’t heard any more about this issue, hopefully they realized hard choices had to be made, the medical folks that made those decisions, will live with that issue the rest of their lives. But it was the most humane thing they could have done, in that situation. Just walk a mile in their moccasins! Then maybe they will understand. Very special city for sure. god Bless you all & your dear sweet city.
I got my RN degree from Charity School of Nursing. I can’t imagine any other place to get the training that I got there!!! It breaks my heart to see it now. I actually have a necklace with a piece of marble from one of the hospital walls!!! I’m one PROUD CHARITY GRAD!!!!
The building is now a shell of what it was, yet when you stand in front of it she is still incredible!!! It’s even more massive in person. Money and greed is more important than life.
I spent 3 weeks working in Nola after Katrina hit. Then President Bush and Then Governor Blanco definitely dropped the ball. It was definitely a sad time in history
I'm Australian. I watched the horror unfolding from the other side of the world and asked "why aren't they doing anything?" It was maddening. Other countries, including Australia offered help, but it was all refused. It made no sense. They clearly needed help. Most countries do when faced with a huge-scale natural disaster. A few years later I became friends with an ex-military guy from the USA. He told me exactly why so little happened. "Louisiana is poor. Politicians don't like poor people because they cost money." Heartbreaking and infuriating that they care more about money than actual people's lives.
Sad to watch that grand old girl left to ruin and the community that was affected by her closure. It would've been so much better to face-lift the old hospital.
I was in Charity Hospital a few years after Katrina where the nursing school was. We heard so many accounts of what people went through. It was so sad.
Honestly this did NOT get enough attention. I remember that hurricane, I was living in NC at the time and I recall it being absolutely deviating… but I had no ideas about Charity Hospital. I also feel quite sickened to think that all those service men and women cleaned and cleaned those 3 levels plus pump out the basement and the government let these people be seen and cared for out of tents. Call it morbid, but I’m glad both of my parent passed young (out side causes) so I never have to go through this with them. Not specifically saying another hurricane but the politics of health care.
i was in nc too. especially in county/city/public hospitals at this point i think you’d have to drag me or my aging father into a hospital forcefully to get me in there. so much privatization and buy ups by big conglomerates that now in my city a week after the big takeover they were sitting up a dead body and denying the person had died in the waiting room. hospital stays i. this country become death sentences real quick
A HUGE SHOUT OUT AND THANK YOU! to all those brave hospital personnel, Military, Police & Firefighters, anyone and everyone who showed up and busted their butts to help and put that hospital to rights after the nightmare that was Katrina. Especially the dad going to get his daughter in his boat; that would've been my Dad, too.😆What a rude slap in the face though, when Officials shut the place down. But, you know... they can't have charity cases mucking up their fair city when the tourists come barreling through. Gee, who ever thought the best time to close a hospital would be right after a deadly hurricane? The saddest part is I can remember when Health Care was actually about care instead of the almighty dollar~😕
I am 22 mins into this and this was NEVER on TV! I'm in ohio and they didn't show this! My heart goes out to the doctors and nurses, yall did your job and went above that!
Let the whistleblowers speak. After what has happened in the past 2-3 years with doctors being silenced or threatened to lose their licence I am not shocked in any way.
15 minutes in, all I can say is that the city, state, and federal government failed Charity Hospital. The doctors, nurses, and staff went above and beyond the call of duty to keep their patients alive. If I’m ever in need of serious medical care I can only hope and pray that I have doctors and nurses of this caliber. May God bless all of those who kept patients alive against impossible odds.
I worked with Hurricane Katrina during the event. As a mobile home installer with my crew team. It was horrible to see as I came out of state to work. New Iberia and Shreveport and New Orleans, Gonzalez City. This video reminded me of it. Wow......
That’s how F’d our system is!- YOUR HOSPITAL DOESN’T PRODUCE ENOUGH GROSS PROFIT FOR US TO CARE ABOUT HUMAN LIFE. If it wasn’t for a nurse working there with a father with political connections all those people may have died…so sad and cruel.
Its always horrifying to me that the government has the power to demolish houses for gentrification . I wonder how the previous owners were compensated and if they were able to find other suitable accommodations in such a pricey and competitive market . Tragic ..
Generally, they're paid based on current market value for that home. Because it's the government and not a private company buying the land, they can't really fight back or make them pay more. My guess is that based on the area they would've chosen to build, the residents wouldn't have gotten enough to live nearby. No amount of money can replace community or family memories.
What a contrast of the human spirit and human greed. There are no words that can accurately describe the tragedy here, nor should there be a need for such words. My heart continues to break for the state of humanity.
This is what my personal nightmare is made of. I could not imagine thinking of the NICU during Katrina. I was there when the world first shut down. This still seems worse. Lord have mercy!!Charity is to New Orleans what Grady hospital 🏥 is to Atlanta .All 4 of my kids were born at 24 weeks and spent 4 months in the NICU in different years. No one still knows why. Great people that I’ll never forget saved my life and my kids lives 4 times!! I literally don’t know what I would do without Grady. We just lost one major hospital in Atlanta that’s goin to have a major impact. Prayers for NO
Great documentary about Charity Hospital.I like many others think they should remodel and reopen Charity.Also I want to thank all the doctors,nurses,and all others who were involved in making this documentary. I hope other people will come to watch this as I have.
This is hard to watch…I’m looking for staff I might know. I recognized Dr Mcswain. I worked at Tulane on 5 East many years ago. I worked pen at Charity..just heartbreaking and encouraging
This shows how healthcare has become a business of money making, not of care for the people. I am horrified. As a nurse, this is totally disheartening.
Seeing the aftermath pictures of how spotless it was after all those workers poured their energy into fixing it, to the areas they had to operate in afterwards made my blood boil. I’m not even American or in healthcare but wow! I can’t imagine the mental strength it takes to be a nurse/dr much less during a natural disaster. Then to see big greedy corporations purposely make it even harder for them during such a time. My heart goes out to each of them.
@@Jason-si8iu Mayor Nagin was set up because he fought for the low-income, black community & condemned Federal/State efforts for aid. He didn't want to close Charity hospital.
Crazy that the state would allow health services to occur in a old dept store but not allow the use of Charity Hospital. The state took advantage of a disaster. I can understand building a new hospital but how did they handle patient capacity in the region for the 10 years between in 2005 and 2015. I hope the building reopens in a way to serve those with the greatest need, such as a place to live for the homeless and poor. Although the new hospital likely gets insured patients that are able to help payment for those who can't. Which makes financial sense for the state. At least it was built in an area still easily accessible by the indigent. However it is still sad to see a beautiful historic building wasted. What is the plan for it? No mstrer what it was politics on both sides.
So sad to see that money and other agendas are more important than caring for people with health issues. A shout out to all the people that worked to save people and the hospital❤
Took my first breath inside Charity hospital and nearly took my last breath there when I fell out the second story window of an apartment building when I was a a preschooler. Drove from Baton Rouge with my cousin so she could take her preschooler son to get treatments for the tumors on his throat. I can't understand why they would not rebuild that hospital. But then again, I know why. SMH
What a poignant and visceral documentary! I could not stop tearing up seeing what the patients and medical staff had to endure. The whole country should have stepped in to help! That dad that came on the boat and got help was amazing!
This breaks my heart to see the greed of some people. New Orleans has always been about people and community ,Charity Hospital was the very representation of community and care.
This is so utterly sad this hospital was a staple in New Orleans for almost 3 centuries and the utter cruelty and greed is so soul wrenching to me the fact that closing hospitals and schools in this country is normalized is sickening. These workers at Charity were already underpaid overworked etc but still worked because they loved their patients and caring for them. It’s been almost 20 years since Katrina and Charity is still there rotting away a building that could breed new life and provide care also employment opportunities.
Well...University Hospital opened in 2015 and absolutely nothing they said was goimg to happen opening this Hospital has happened. In fact the entire LSU health system has now been privatized and bought by Ochners Health System. The second biggest critical access Hospital was LSU Shreveport. If you had no insurance or was a trauma patient, you went to lsu-s. Now they may take you, maybe not. Ive sent trauma parients as far away as Kentucky for trauma care because the lsu system wouldn't accept them. And that was unheard of just 10 years ago.
My dad a mechanic for charity hospital EMS vans early 1960s an before that built caskets at the casket company on canal I believe it was... He came from the Florida Ave projects back in the 40s upper 9th ward an has retired in 1996 as a longshoreman from the industrial canal... Very proud of my old man..
How could they just turn their backs and make such a horrible choice of closing not just a well loved and Trusted Hospital. To close the doors on the rare amount of genuine and passionate Doctors, Nurses and many others who kept patients alive but also kept the Faith that they are in good hands. Completely 💔 while watching this. To use such a horrible situation as a opportunity to make money of a landmark that held history and a huge part of Katrina.😞😥
![Downwinders and the Radioactive West [FULL DOCUMENTARY]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/77gJtV13ouo/mqdefault.jpg)
I was a psych nurse in Baton Rouge during Katrina. Lord, when they needed Big Charity the most. Things weren't any better for us in Baton Rouge, we had all of the New Orleans patients plus ours all right here.
I remember staying at work 10 days straight, not knowing about my own family. My patients had no, food, water, medicines, or bedding. My hospital had no power for 30 days and I never saw the first emergency generator. Our patients from New Orleans, just laid straight on the wet nasty floors. Those that lost family, friends, homes, and jobs had so little emotional and medical help at that time.
Nothing I ever want to see again.
The tears rolled for months afterwards.
Even years later, now after seeing this.
GOD BLESS YOU & THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE
Thank you so much for your service!!!
That sounds absolutely horrific 😢. Thank you for sticking it out with the people in spite of the terrible conditions. Many would give up and be on to find their own family but you took your commitment to your patients seriously 🥰Bless you ❤
Wow! They never tell those horror stories on the news! Thank you so much for all you do. Nursing is one of the most difficult jobs on the planet, with so much less recognition and support that you deserve. May the Universe shine its gifts upon you~✨☄🎆
I appreciate all you did to be there for those who couldn’t care for themselves. It is a huge sacrifice to be away from you family. Thank you again
I was very recently in the hospital at Tulane across from Charity and my patient care tech worked at Charity during Katrina and the things she told me she experienced were jaw droppingly horrifying. She said if it wasn't for documentaries like this nobody would know what they all went through both patients AND staff.
Wooow
Tulane still had power tho Because they rented a portable generator truck which they hooked up to the emergency red sockets
My aunt worked in EMS at the time of Katrina
Many doctors were forced into incredibly difficult situations. We were forgotten. Tulane got evacuated first they left big charity and mercy hospital both with critical patients ALONE. Some doctors had to euthanize patients they couldn't evac or move to higher floors, alligators were getting into buildings trying to escape the storm, people outside were killing each other trying to reach out hospitals just for the government to fly over us in blackhawks
@@riflescientist1744years ago I wouldn’t have believed this. Now, I disgustingly know that what you are saying is true. Our government failed in every way possible. People need to be in prison for murder.
@@riflescientist1744 This is so terrible, I am sorry
“The jail has become our largest mental health provider in the state.” There are no words…
Exactly what happens all over the US. Shame on this country. What an embarrassment in front of the entire world.
It is sad. They do not get help in a jail.
It’s true
a sad but terrible reality....
Unfortunately, it's all too easy to believe.
I was there as a 5 year old child with polio, am 73 now, they were angels.
I was confused I thought you meant you were there in 05 😭
New Orleans resident here… the scars on the community continue to this day. There are so many deep in addiction and critical mental health that are still dying from a few corrupt individuals. I’ve seen the proof, we still NEED Charity.
💜🙏
West Jeff native here, you are absolutely right charity was one of our arteries and the new charity doesn't even fill a single shoe Big Charity was able to give us
She was our cities guardian
🙏🙏💜
I was born in Charity Hospital 70 years ago. My mother had traveled from Vermont to Louisiana to deliver me in a military installation hospital. She wanted to be with my Dad who was stationed in the Army down there. When her labor began, there was no open bed for her at the planned hospital. She was taken in to Charity where the as they were called Gray Ladies helped her deliver me.
The Government is destroying lives. But people are to stupid to wake up an realize. But yet they want more gov, like stupid people
Thank you for sharing your story..✨♥️✨
The sheer audacity the State had to say that the Hospital wasn’t usable but they were absolutely fine with those Drs and Nurses making do in ill equipped convention centers and department stores speaks volumes.
Shame
And it was fine all those years before making the best of an ill equipped situation. 10-20 patients on wards, no privacy 24/7. Just greed at its finest.
@@tinawindham6958 100%. As usual profit before patient. The money they spent on the new hospital could have been used at the old hospital to cover those patients who didn’t have insurance
@@nadineledwozan3586 lots of kickback's made sure it was never gonna reopen
@@Jason-si8iu absolutely. It’s just disgraceful.
My god. The longer the documentary takes, the worse it gets, I can't believe what I'm just watching. Heartbreaking.
😭😭😭 UNBELIEVABLE 😭😭😭 OMG! I just watched this mess & it was my tears for me!
Exactly! The hurricane itself was the lightest part. This is absolutely horrible.
This brings back so many tears. I was a new RN when this happened. Although I did work in the city, I didn’t work at Charity and Katrina was my off week. I lived about 40 minutes away and watched helplessly as everyone else did from TV. So close, yet so far. I wanted to help, but there was nothing any of us outside of the city could do. You could sense the suffering from miles away. Horrible. Still shocking. We took care of many of these patients afterwards, and we absorbed the nurses as well. The stories we heard were things I’d never thought I’d hear. It’s amazing how a civilized city can be turned on its head within 24 hrs.
Same!! I’m a native and never knew the extent of what happened. I 100% believe the state and LSU concocted a plan to erect a new hospital. They were determined to do it. That just shows you how much of a force these “big dogs” are and the disgusting lengths they go to for greed. From staff, to patients, to those home owners. I’m honestly upset.
Two days ago I was saying how healthcare is no longer rewarding after 26 yrs then I watched this. I cried like a new born baby god bless every last one of them.😢
Girl me too I had to keep pausing it! So many emotions. Makes me want to make more out of life. The fight those people had to fight 😣.
I've been sitting here for several minutes now with my fingers on the keyboard trying to come up with the words to describe what I'm feeling and the thoughts that are running through my head after watching this. I am disgusted, I am appalled, I am outraged. How "certain people" can sit there with smiles on their faces and talk about how glorious that new hospital is and how state of the art it is I DON'T GIVE A RIP I'd like to rip those smiles right off their greedy disgusting faces. That new hospital doesn't represent healthcare to me. Instead it represents greed, and lack of empathy for all the lives they have destroyed. It represents once again powerful people who line their pockets while trampling over everyone else to get what THEY want because no one else matters but THEMSELVES. They make me truly sick.
You said it great and I agree 💯 with you!!!
I couldn’t agree more. You said it well. Such a sad story nothing good came out of, its all changed for the worse and so many people could do nothing but watch it happen. So many so proud of the fact they were born or worked at Charity.
I thought the exact same thing. All about money and profit.
I hope in their time of need, the hospital and the system fails them, after all, everyone involved deserves to have done to them, what they have done to do many.
I as a nurse know your feelings. Years later I see truth. This! Destroyed the best teachings in La. Charity was great to go to. When you work with employees, medical staff...they teach me even more. 19 years of nursing....and I can learn from them...This is where healthcare is headed
This needs WAY more views. What fantastic dualism: the doctors, nurses and staff fighting to keep people alive through a disaster only to have the government, politicians and business people destroy it and shutter it then greed and fight FEMA for money for a new (un-needed) hospital. You couldn't paint humanity any better than this documentary does.
I just found it. Definitely will get more views as it becomes shared
I'm in Texas about 100 miles NW of Houston, but I'm sharing this on my FB page.. More people DO need to know about this criminal malfeasance !..
Sb Smith
The Duality of man can be a terrifying thing.
Jails and Prisons are now are new mental institutions.
I wouldn’t necessarily say unneeded. Arguably not fit for modern healthcare. They’d need to gut the inside and rebuild it
I cannot believe what those corporate imbeciles did. They couldn’t reopen Charity bc it would “get in the way” of their goal of receiving more $,& opening a huge corporation of health care. The fact that they built it over the just recovered neighborhood.. sickening to the core. To the team of courageous workers who NEVER stopped-even in the face of unbelievable challenges during that hurricane- THANK U. You are the true heroes of this story!
When a hospital like this is shuttered, it impacts numerous lives. As a healthcare worker, I have experienced this firsthand. Hospitals are so much more than buildings. They are communities with families working in them. Countless memories are connected with them. The last hospital I worked in was shut down and bulldozed into the ground. I have not been able to drive past that site to this day.
As a nurse I can’t imagine what these doctors, nurses, ancillary staff and patients went through at this time. Much respect! Shame on those who chose not to reopen Charity!
Me either. When the one woman's father showed up in a boat, I cried so hard. I couldn't even imagine leaving your daughter there. That's a feeling I would spend a lifetime trying to forget. We are so lucky they were willing to talk about it. THANK YOU to you everyone that spoke up in this documentary, heroes.
It doesn’t generate profit. The people who own the hospitals now consider healthcare institutions an investment. Makes me so mad!
I'm not a nurse but my children's mother is n we both completely agree!😊🙏💜✌️
There was a great Hulu show based on a better audiobook / book about those 5 days immediately following Katrina at Charity - gives me chills thinking about how hard that must have been for those MDs and nurses who stayed to provide care despite the city leaving them behind
@@AnEye4AI That was not Charity. It was Memorial. Five Days at Memorial. Not on Hulu, on Apple TV+ for anyone who wants to watch. Highly recommend. But the book is worth reading, the show can only capture so much.
This brought tears to my eyes...I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, but I have so many memories of Charity Hospital. My family received health care there. I remember driving from BR to NOLA for my great grandma and chasing pigeons on the steps and getting Burger King around the way. This is heart breaking and so sad that it happened in a place that I love so dearly.
Terrible what happened to Charity Hospital. Thank you for telling the truth.
Bless those doctors and nurses and all other staff. Imagine being a patient, awake and on a ventilator when the power went out. Just to look up and see someone just as scared and confused but they get to work helping you anyway. As an asthmatic who is hospitalized regularly, I am thankful beyond words for medical professionals like them.
You’re supposed to be sedated when you’re ventilated.
Several times from 15 minutes on the video says people on ventilators were awake and being bagged to breathe. One man grabbed the bag and was squeezing it himself.
@@LuvFearlesslynot necessarily. Early on for temporarily ventilated patients, but longer term most are awake and alert.
@@LuvFearlessly Sorry for the novel- I’m an ICU nurse. You’re sedated at first when you are intubated. How long they keep you sedated and how sedated they keep you depends on the situation. If they’re a neuro patient, I have to do a neuro assessment every 1-2 hours. For other patients, I have to do a neuro assessment that’s included in my full assessment every 4 hours. To get an accurate assessment, sedation has to be paused or weaned. For most, except in certain circumstances, the goal is a RASS score of -2 (lightly sedated, wakes up to voice with eye contact). There are instances where we keep people more heavily sedated. Examples of these situations include agitation that could cause the patient to harm themselves, agitation that interferes with their synchrony/compliance with the ventilator, preventing shivering during targeted temperature management (TTM) post-arrest, increased intracranial pressure (ICP) when stimulated, adequate sedation or BIS score for paralyzing & proning, etc. Aside from the exceptions, the goal is for the patient to be somewhat alert, but comfortable. I personally feel terrible when someone is awake at all on the ventilator, but I understand why we have to do it. If you don’t get frequent quality neuro assessments, neuro changes that could indicate a problem such as a stroke could be missed. Also, sedation wears off differently and in varying amounts of time for everyone. So as far as assessing goes, it’s not always as easy as heavily sedating them and then just pausing for the exam. For that reason, lighter sedation is more reliable and may possibly reduce delirium.
The spirit of the nurses and former other healthcare workers are definitely there
THIS DOCUMENTARY WAS AMAZING AND HEARTBREAKING. So well done. Never have I watched something that filled me with so much faith in humanity and at the same time question it. I hurt for those people Louisiana lost while CEOs and politicians played monopoly.
Same old same old. Not thinking about the people but about money, money, money. I now live in Baton Rouge, La., but I used to live in New Orleans and I never knew any of this. This was a great video, a sad video but very informative.
Healthcare just shouldn't be for profit. I think America is an example of it not working. You're so right. All about the $.
@@freedomishavingachoice3020 This video blew my mind! The suffering and the dedication of these health care workers was beyond belief. And the callous disregard for both left me stunned.
I'm an RN and one of my nursing instructors 35 yrs. ago was trained at Charity. She spoke of it fondly. What a sad story. I have the utmost respect for all the nurses, doctors, and staff who went through that whole experience.
I live in Australia, but to shut down a hospital, there is no reason, my heart goes out to all the doctors the nurses, everybody involved with charity
Sadly, I'm not shocked. I've worked in healthcare for 15 years, and the levels of corruption, the cruelty to patients and staff is unconscionable. I've seen it all. It's all about the money and power. Kudos to the people that stood up for what's right, and a curse on the sellout doctors and management who went along to enrich themselves.
pierogi. Ty for ur truthful post here. With all that has been going on with the cv nonsense I feel the same as you. I will never get the jab . The post jab injuries are increasing as I write this. I do nonstop research on many things. God bless you for being truthful on the atrocity committed against the people. Our controllers have no respect whatsoever for our citizens and not even for the medical personnel. Another atrocity the government has foisted upon us.
Oh yes
Truth yep pierogi
I've been taking care of people since 1978 been a Rn since 2008. Now you can't even take credit of people, it's all about insurance and not the people. I refuse to work for any facilities. I only do private home care.. May Yah bless us all. Love and light to everyone
I am vaccinated and have zero side effects other than being protected. My husband is not vaccinated and he got pneumonia, was in the hospital for a week, out of work on oxygen for nine months and is now on an inhaler for life. The vaccine works.
I get the shivers thinking about some of these stories and the people working together and caring for each other. This is the Louisiana im proud of being from.
This is so sad and maddening to me. All those dedicated military and doctors and nurses had it ready to go but MONEY and EGO took over again in the city of New Orleans. Plus the fact they could have upgraded the hospital for millions less than it took to build a new place is just sad.
The whole world watched in horror as the US government failed New Orleans. We were mortified as NO was left to suffer. It was unbelievable how slow to action the US gov was.
But now, to discover this, I’m beyond speechless 😢
The Charity Hospital debacle was sinful 😒
Well said!!! I was forever changed. I could not believe that we would just let our own people born and raised here...in USA just have a slow death. It was heart wrenching. I never thought my country was perfect. But not that bad either. Well, the US showed us the true face. So sad.
The failure at local and state governments is what’s overlooked, New Orleans failed its people and continues to do so
This was even worse than I thought. A damn shame. Blame corporate a corrupt State & Federal leaders.
Wonder how many millions that LSU CEO was gonna pocket. GREED , could care less about the people
When referring to tearing down someone's HOME, some that were built by their family members 125 years ago..."those people were INCONVENIENCED, but most people will agree it's highly favorable to the city." INCONVENIENCED?! Are you serious?! That's the word he chose? Can you imagine? Coming home, repair your home from Katrina, just to have it demolished a couple of years later to build a hospital that no body but the greedy higher-ups wanted. Then for that heart breaking, life shattering moment in your life to be referred to as an inconvenience! The drive thru messing up my order, a hole in your sock, or being stuck in traffic is a minor inconvenience, not losing the only home you've ever known! 🤯😮💨😬😑😵
I thought the same thing. He really was trying to downplay the pain they were causing.
@@VirtualLola yes!!! Exactly!!!
Google Larry Hollier. He’s finally been called out and forced to resign as Chancellor of LSU in New Orleans. Can you believe he’s a practicing vascular surgeon in the same hospital where his crimes were committed? And that he’s not been punished for his actions??
I could not have said it better. That enraged me.
@@garlicgirl3149 girl it still enrages me! I can't even imagine!
It was SO SAD to find out that Charity Hospital was closing for good. Truly the end of an era.
That’s where everybody I know from there say they were born at 😢
for real that is a beautiful building too. they just don’t make em like that anymore
For good and for no good reason.
Murdered by political bullshit. It served the poor. They don't care about the poor.
@@wintermatherne2524 corruption mate.
What an absolute world class documentary on the political and immoral as well as the sacred and the incredible history.. great job gathering the stories and creating a journey
I was born and raised in Baton Rouge. We had a Charity Hospital in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. So many people can’t afford healthcare. It’s a shame that there aren’t more hospitals like that. Closing them has hurt so many people.
Mercy!!! I worked at Charity in the OB / GYN Clinic as an HIV Counselor. Also had my Mental Health Patients admitted to 3rd Floor through the Coroner's Office. This is still emotional. New hospital built but heart breaks for Displaced Families.
What the patients that the City and Establishment Forgot leaves me speechless. The dedication and selflessness of the Medical Professionals after Hurricane Katrina is Tearjerking. I can only think that they have PTSD and hope Counseling and Support was provided for them.
This is so devestating. I hope people watch and learn. Not reopening Charity Hospital created a chain reaction of horrible events. So sad
Every person responsible for shutting down a functional hospital in the middle of that tragedy need prosecuted. How can can someone look at all that suffering and only think of profit!?!
Agree 100%. Also, you mean "think only of," not "only think of." 🙂
Well said
It was damaged in not up to code they had to choose wisely what building to redo bc the city couldn't afford to fix every building
Who will prosecute them? The state? The state is the people who did it. They won't prosecute themselves, they can't. The corruption runs too deep.
@@fayecox9401That is not the truth.
As a nurse myself, this is sad to see but as you can see, healthcare workers will team together in time of crisis
This event was the very beginning of the end of my nursing career. . I oretired early. Really against my will. Prayers and blessings to the professionals who worked through this disaster. It was a turning point in the US Healthcare system.
The simple truth is that the city of NOLA and LSU wanted a pretty, new building and the storm was a perfect excuse. Instead of fixing and renovating a building that has proved itself to be able to stand the worst of the worst storms with minimal (if any) damage they chose to displace a huge number of their population and destroy blocks of historic homes all for the sake of greed and vanity.......MAKES ME SICK! The people of New Orleans are the kindest, most welcoming, fun people you'll ever meet and they deserve so much better.
All of lsu University look like asylums . Deep in my soul I feel like another agenda is brewing here outside of modern architecture 😩
It’s really good to know that there are still wonderful people in this world! Thank you! Doctors and nurses of Charity Hospital! ❤
Horrendous. The staff were incredible and all of the emergency responders, who value life above all else. It's sad to think that your WEALTH is your HEALTH, . There needs to be more hospitals and services for ESSENTIAL SERVICES such as this hospital. I think that the more advanced we get, the more backwards our government become.
What a shame the governor couldn’t be bothered to visit the hospital after all the hard work.
Could have but chose not to as it would interfere with his money
Im a New Orleans Native. I wanna Thank all the doctors, nurses and anyone who helped this hospital run. Everytime i come home and drive downtown o drive by charity. Hope they fix it up and not tear it down its a historical building. #NewOrleanslivesinme!
Ought to be made into a movie. Touching ❤️🇨🇦
Needs to stay as is. Movies are made by those focused on profit.
This makes me so mad! Shame on the big wigs of New Orleans that spent 10 yrs & put getting the money to build their modern hospital above the needs of the people they were supposed to be caring for when so many people were in need after Katrina & then to make matters worse they didn't think twice about putting people out of their home just to get what they wanted. To all those people who needed help but didn't get it I'm truly sorry.
I think it is tragic that the huge art deco building was not renovated.. Charity Hospital provided services of all medical needs and was an excellent training Hospital for doctors and nurses. And for people to lose their homes unnecessary. The indigent will sure
l absolutely agree. beautiful architecture, rich history, on an incredible scale… run by the daughters of charity… it’s tragic that these religious orders - women who devote their lives to nothing but serving their neighbor, with a vow of poverty, no family but their patients and sisters in religious life - have been similarly killed off within the catholic church (of which i’m a rightfully dissenting member, ha!) which no longer wants to serve the people in any meaningful way in this day and age when there’s so much need for such devoted and caring nurses without profit motive but working for their faith and love of neighbor 😢
Even after a consultants study showed it could be renovated and brought up to 21st century standards in as little as 3 years they still chose to abandon it. Sad
"of which i’m a rightfully dissenting member" That's exactly how I feel. I was born and raised Roman Catholic and I will always be Catholic but I quit attending mass over 15 years ago. I see a lot of posers and Catholics locally who are trying to buy their way into heaven and there are just mean and hateful people (even in my own family) who claim to be Catholic and they are selfish and so materialistic and I don't want to be anywhere around any of them. @@marguerilla
When I lived down there for 27 years, I can tell you that This was one of the worst things to happen after Katrina imaginable. They should have reopened that hospital.
I’m literally at a loss for words the greed is sickening it was never about the people. THANK YOU TO THOSE HEALTHCARE WORKERS for all that they do and did this broke my heart! Shame on those that didn’t allow charity to be reopened !!! 😢😢😢😢
I grew up in New Orleans. My brother had asthma. I spent many nights there with my mother and my brother trying to get his symptoms to subside. It was a charity doctor that his attacks were triggered by his allergies to dogs. My brother loves his dog. Both my nieces were born there. Thank God I WENT BACK FOR A VISIT BEFORE KATRINA
Every time I pass Big Charity, an emptiness overtakes me. Truly a sad chapter
The staff from this facility are the exact ones I want to care for me and my loved ones, even on their worst day! Our facility closed as well with only a 30 days notice, so I get it. I am still mad because all of our patients had to go somewhere else or no longer seeked treatment for their needs. And the fact we were only one of two trauma centers in the city, smh...lifelong disabilities have increased as well as death. This film was wonderfully made. When it comes to money, corporations and the government do NOT care whatsoever...they will allow many to die to get their way. Majority of us didn't become a part of the healthcare system for this.
So sad and bloody disgraceful what happened to Charity Hospital.. All about business, big bucks and politics in the end.
These wonderful doctors and nurses etc are truly amazing 👏 and what they tried to do to keep Charity going went over and beyond dedication.
I worked at Southern baptist hospital in the 70’s. Everyone who lived there, their whole lives & they always talked about “the big one” meaning a hurricane, coming someday. I had since then moved up to Massachusetts, & my heart just went out to the whole city.
I hadn’t lived there very long but all those folks had a special bond, the music, the Marci Gras, the special food, there’s no other city like it. I read about the nurses & doctors that remained at Charity hospital, working for days and days & nights, but since nurses & Drs take their job very seriously, it’s our duty to stay & help.
The closest thing I came to an emergency was a blizzard that hit the northeast. I had to get to work & was taken to my hospital by a policeman in his car. My husband thought I was crazy. He had no idea that it was my duty to help out. When my shift was over, I actually got back home at my normal time. He was amazed that I actually got home. This was husband #1. He would never understand, to help out without getting anything in return. But I did get back quite a bit. I know that my patients were so glad to get helped. That was enough for me. I’ve seen that neighborhoods are still needing to be rebuilt, but was so happy to see that Marci Gras came back in little bits. The French Quarter has to come back. And I knew it’s already coming back It breaks my heart, that the Charity hospital has become a political football. I read an article about this hospital & many very difficult choices that had to be made when the power went off & patients who were on ventilators, were kept alive manually until they had to just make a hard choice to stop venting these folks & they had to let them die. They had no choice. The patients were given an injection to basically euthanize them. And after folks got wind of this, they wanted to prosecute the drs. I haven’t heard any more about this issue, hopefully they realized hard choices had to be made, the medical folks that made those decisions, will live with that issue the rest of their lives. But it was the most humane thing they could have done, in that situation. Just walk a mile in their moccasins! Then maybe they will understand. Very special city for sure. god Bless you all & your dear sweet city.
The LOVE and HARD WORK these people gave are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May god bless all of them!!!!!
Charity Hospital looks enormous and a great place to have.
I got my RN degree from Charity School of Nursing. I can’t imagine any other place to get the training that I got there!!! It breaks my heart to see it now. I actually have a necklace with a piece of marble from one of the hospital walls!!! I’m one PROUD CHARITY GRAD!!!!
The greed for money and power will continue to hinder the progress of humanity.
Well said
This makes me mad as well and breaks my heart for all the nurses and doctors. It's awful the government should be ashamed of themselves.
The building is now a shell of what it was, yet when you stand in front of it she is still incredible!!! It’s even more massive in person. Money and greed is more important than life.
I spent 3 weeks working in Nola after Katrina hit. Then President Bush and Then Governor Blanco definitely dropped the ball. It was definitely a sad time in history
I'm Australian. I watched the horror unfolding from the other side of the world and asked "why aren't they doing anything?" It was maddening. Other countries, including Australia offered help, but it was all refused. It made no sense. They clearly needed help. Most countries do when faced with a huge-scale natural disaster.
A few years later I became friends with an ex-military guy from the USA. He told me exactly why so little happened. "Louisiana is poor. Politicians don't like poor people because they cost money."
Heartbreaking and infuriating that they care more about money than actual people's lives.
This is why I tell people america is not the richest country that it tries to look and be
It was all intentional
So many kind people who put others first. Love this
Sad to watch that grand old girl left to ruin and the community that was affected by her closure. It would've been so much better to face-lift the old hospital.
Dang this was deep so much happened in this storm this is horrible
There is no greater evil than greed. Shame on those who made the decision not to reopen. Thank God your staff has a heart.
I was in Charity Hospital a few years after Katrina where the nursing school was. We heard so many accounts of what people went through. It was so sad.
Honestly this did NOT get enough attention. I remember that hurricane, I was living in NC at the time and I recall it being absolutely deviating… but I had no ideas about Charity Hospital. I also feel quite sickened to think that all those service men and women cleaned and cleaned those 3 levels plus pump out the basement and the government let these people be seen and cared for out of tents. Call it morbid, but I’m glad both of my parent passed young (out side causes) so I never have to go through this with them.
Not specifically saying another hurricane but the politics of health care.
i was in nc too. especially in county/city/public hospitals at this point i think you’d have to drag me or my aging father into a hospital forcefully to get me in there. so much privatization and buy ups by big conglomerates that now in my city a week after the big takeover they were sitting up a dead body and denying the person had died in the waiting room. hospital stays i. this country become death sentences real quick
A HUGE SHOUT OUT AND THANK YOU! to all those brave hospital personnel, Military, Police & Firefighters, anyone and everyone who showed up and busted their butts to help and put that hospital to rights after the nightmare that was Katrina. Especially the dad going to get his daughter in his boat; that would've been my Dad, too.😆What a rude slap in the face though, when Officials shut the place down. But, you know... they can't have charity cases mucking up their fair city when the tourists come barreling through. Gee, who ever thought the best time to close a hospital would be right after a deadly hurricane? The saddest part is I can remember when Health Care was actually about care instead of the almighty dollar~😕
Charity Hospital didn't interfere with " tourists" for 300 years...very few tourists even see Tulane Ave... My mother worked at Charity for 10 years..
I am 22 mins into this and this was NEVER on TV! I'm in ohio and they didn't show this! My heart goes out to the doctors and nurses, yall did your job and went above that!
Let the whistleblowers speak. After what has happened in the past 2-3 years with doctors being silenced or threatened to lose their licence I am not shocked in any way.
So sad. Ty all the folks that stayed with the ill.
15 minutes in, all I can say is that the city, state, and federal government failed Charity Hospital. The doctors, nurses, and staff went above and beyond the call of duty to keep their patients alive. If I’m ever in need of serious medical care I can only hope and pray that I have doctors and nurses of this caliber. May God bless all of those who kept patients alive against impossible odds.
I worked with Hurricane Katrina during the event. As a mobile home installer with my crew team. It was horrible to see as I came out of state to work. New Iberia and Shreveport and New Orleans, Gonzalez City. This video reminded me of it. Wow......
That’s how F’d our system is!- YOUR HOSPITAL DOESN’T PRODUCE ENOUGH GROSS PROFIT FOR US TO CARE ABOUT HUMAN LIFE.
If it wasn’t for a nurse working there with a father with political connections all those people may have died…so sad and cruel.
It really is incredible that the government was perfectly fine with leaving that hospital and everyone in it to rot.
Its always horrifying to me that the government has the power to demolish houses for gentrification . I wonder how the previous owners were compensated and if they were able to find other suitable accommodations in such a pricey and competitive market . Tragic ..
This is why when the government gets to powerful you fight back with force
Generally, they're paid based on current market value for that home. Because it's the government and not a private company buying the land, they can't really fight back or make them pay more. My guess is that based on the area they would've chosen to build, the residents wouldn't have gotten enough to live nearby. No amount of money can replace community or family memories.
@@Erin-rg3dw That's for sure. Sad.
What a contrast of the human spirit and human greed. There are no words that can accurately describe the tragedy here, nor should there be a need for such words. My heart continues to break for the state of humanity.
This documentary was amazing, most of my family was born at charity ❤️
Such a sad loss to New Orleans. The political powers did not want it reopened.
Damn Democrats
@@59tante the corruption was with every type politician from the feds to the mayor
The mayor was corrupt.
@@e.agoraphobicdickinsonpoet660 him & every new Orleans politician since the Louisiana purchase
@59tante interesting you say democrats but Bush (a Republican) was in office during this time. Try again. Weirdo.
Wish I could send more
This is what my personal nightmare is made of. I could not imagine thinking of the NICU during Katrina. I was there when the world first shut down. This still seems worse. Lord have mercy!!Charity is to New Orleans what Grady hospital 🏥 is to Atlanta .All 4 of my kids were born at 24 weeks and spent 4 months in the NICU in different years. No one still knows why. Great people that I’ll never forget saved my life and my kids lives 4 times!! I literally don’t know what I would do without Grady. We just lost one major hospital in Atlanta that’s goin to have a major impact. Prayers for NO
Great documentary about Charity Hospital.I like many others think they should remodel and reopen Charity.Also I want to thank all the doctors,nurses,and all others who were involved in making this documentary. I hope other people will come to watch this as I have.
This is hard to watch…I’m looking for staff I might know. I recognized Dr Mcswain. I worked at Tulane on 5 East many years ago. I worked pen at Charity..just heartbreaking and encouraging
Another documentary showing how America is such a great country and how much we care about having a healthy society. Wink!
This shows how healthcare has become a business of money making, not of care for the people. I am horrified. As a nurse, this is totally disheartening.
Seeing the aftermath pictures of how spotless it was after all those workers poured their energy into fixing it, to the areas they had to operate in afterwards made my blood boil. I’m not even American or in healthcare but wow! I can’t imagine the mental strength it takes to be a nurse/dr much less during a natural disaster. Then to see big greedy corporations purposely make it even harder for them during such a time. My heart goes out to each of them.
I’m shocked at this! It’s absolutely disgusting! I know it was a long time ago but even so it’s wrong!
This is soooo soooo sad 😢 HOW could they give up on it? It was SO important to the Community 😮😢
That's one of the major reasons why I believe they did it, BECAUSE it was so important to the community.
Lots of politicians got rich of closing it down after Katrina, the mayor got fed time
It didn't make money. Charity is useless to politicians.
Money
@@Jason-si8iu Mayor Nagin was set up because he fought for the low-income, black community & condemned Federal/State efforts for aid. He didn't want to close Charity hospital.
Crazy that the state would allow health services to occur in a old dept store but not allow the use of Charity Hospital. The state took advantage of a disaster. I can understand building a new hospital but how did they handle patient capacity in the region for the 10 years between in 2005 and 2015.
I hope the building reopens in a way to serve those with the greatest need, such as a place to live for the homeless and poor.
Although the new hospital likely gets insured patients that are able to help payment for those who can't. Which makes financial sense for the state. At least it was built in an area still easily accessible by the indigent.
However it is still sad to see a beautiful historic building wasted. What is the plan for it?
No mstrer what it was politics on both sides.
They never ever let a good crisis go to waste, and Katrina was it.
So sad to see that money and other agendas are more important than caring for people with health issues. A shout out to all the people that worked to save people and the hospital❤
Talking about hospital's like they are competing fast food chains is so odd. America really needs socialized medicine.
Took my first breath inside Charity hospital and nearly took my last breath there when I fell out the second story window of an apartment building when I was a a preschooler. Drove from Baton Rouge with my cousin so she could take her preschooler son to get treatments for the tumors on his throat. I can't understand why they would not rebuild that hospital. But then again, I know why. SMH
❤❤ wow, as a RN 4 39yrs, this is so sad. Symbolic of the decline of our healthcare system 😢
What a poignant and visceral documentary! I could not stop tearing up seeing what the patients and medical staff had to endure. The whole country should have stepped in to help! That dad that came on the boat and got help was amazing!
I'm so glad that this story was told. As it shows what greed will do to a city and community.
Money and politics squeeze the life out of volunteerism, charity, and goodwill.
This breaks my heart to see the greed of some people. New Orleans has always been about people and community ,Charity Hospital was the very representation of community and care.
Thank God for her father who came, and sent help!!
This is so utterly sad this hospital was a staple in New Orleans for almost 3 centuries and the utter cruelty and greed is so soul wrenching to me the fact that closing hospitals and schools in this country is normalized is sickening.
These workers at Charity were already underpaid overworked etc but still worked because they loved their patients and caring for them.
It’s been almost 20 years since Katrina and Charity is still there rotting away a building that could breed new life and provide care also employment opportunities.
Well...University Hospital opened in 2015 and absolutely nothing they said was goimg to happen opening this Hospital has happened. In fact the entire LSU health system has now been privatized and bought by Ochners Health System. The second biggest critical access Hospital was LSU Shreveport. If you had no insurance or was a trauma patient, you went to lsu-s. Now they may take you, maybe not. Ive sent trauma parients as far away as Kentucky for trauma care because the lsu system wouldn't accept them. And that was unheard of just 10 years ago.
Watching this made me cry…
My dad a mechanic for charity hospital EMS vans early 1960s an before that built caskets at the casket company on canal I believe it was... He came from the Florida Ave projects back in the 40s upper 9th ward an has retired in 1996 as a longshoreman from the industrial canal... Very proud of my old man..
How could they just turn their backs and make such a horrible choice of closing not just a well loved and Trusted Hospital. To close the doors on the rare amount of genuine and passionate Doctors, Nurses and many others who kept patients alive but also kept the Faith that they are in good hands. Completely 💔 while watching this.
To use such a horrible situation as a opportunity to make money of a landmark that held history and a huge part of Katrina.😞😥
Government officials not giving a crap about the people. Just looking out for themselves.