Update from Baton Rouge

Jeff Greer provides a dispatch from the front lines of the medical response to the hurricane.

My parents live in Baton Rouge and were thankfully spared from the brunt of the storm. Most of Baton Rouge has power, but parts of the city are still without and many schools are closed. Phone lines and cellular systems remain congested and it has been difficult to get through.

At this point, BR has become the point of refuge. My father runs a medical clinic there and my mother is a nurse – they are now very much involved in relief efforts. As of last night a few hospitals were still operating in NO, but with the recent orders to evacuate NO things will most likely be changing. BR clinics and hospitals were planning to see as many patients as they could today and LSU has cancelled classes to help accommodate the influx of people who are able to make it there on their own or who have been evacuated from NO. As has been reported, things are incredibly chaotic and without access to working phones, organized communications are nearly impossible.

All facets of infrastructure are at (or have exceeded) their breaking points and I encourage all to donate to charity and/or other support organizations.

For additional information:
Baton Rouge Advocate
NO Times-Picayune