New Orleans EMS Remains Homeless
Four years following Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans EMS is still without a home, but that may soon change.
NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Four years ago this week, EMS providers here were scrambling to take care of residents as an unwelcome woman -- Katrina -- came to town.
Boats replaced ambulances. Many providers lost their homes to Katrina's wrath. But, they remained on duty to do what they could to provide pre-hospital care to thousands of residents.
New Orleans' EMS -- like thousands of others -- was left homeless. Since Katrina, they've been operating out of two FEMA trailers located under a bridge.
However, there are plans for a permanent home -- a municipal training center currently occupied by the New Orleans Police.
"It's probably going to be another six months or so. They need to do repairs and renovations to the building," said Jeb Tate, a paramedic.
When completed, all EMS services will be back under one roof. Crews will have showers, lockers and a weight room. There will be training and meeting rooms as well.
Crews begin and end their shifts at the trailer court. If they change clothes, they have to put their bags back in their vehicles.
That will change when they move to the new site. "It will be a morale booster," Tate said.
Calls for service have returned to pre-Katrina levels -- about 3,300 -- monthly, Tate said.
New Orleans is now one of the fastest growing cities, according to CNN.
The increase in the number of calls also brought about another issue -- long waits at the hospital.
To get crews back in service, a paramedic being paid overtime roves among the city's hospitals in a support vehicle equipped with two stretchers.
"When personnel learn they may be delayed in an emergency department, the medic responds to stay with the patient. The crew takes a stretcher, and goes back in service."
The delay in some emergency departments has been more than an hour.
Crews are still rumbling around the city in the 25 ambulances FEMA provided after Katrina. They are in various stages of disrepair.
However, the city recently signed a contract to purchase new ambulances.
"They can't come soon enough," Tate said.
The medic added that EMS crews have adapted to insure that patient care is not compromised.
"We have dedicated people here..."
