USA (MNN)–As New Orleans residents return to a post-Katrina home, another crisis is emerging: lack of sufficient medical care.
Only a quarter of the doctors have returned. Says Jody Herrington, Disaster Relief Manager for Operation Blessing, “The medical crisis in New Orleans is much like the kind you would experience in a third world country.”
At the outset of the refugee returns, OBI teamed up with International Medical Alliance (IMA) and sponsored a medical fair in New Orleans. At the fair, 9,600 patients were seen, 125 treated and 650 prescriptions dispensed.
As the needs mounted, it became obvious that a short-term solution was not going to work. In a medical report submitted by Dr. Dale Betterton, Medical Director for IMA and Dr. Dorothy Davison, IMA President, they state that, “Not only is a free, primary health care clinic highly desirable and necessary.” The report goes on to say, “It borders on being essential for a burgeoning, ill population.”
The outgrowth of this effort is that Operation Blessing International and the International Medical Alliance are launching a disaster relief medical clinic in New Orleans in response.
They hope to have the clinic up and running by mid-March. As the teams respond to needs, they become the embodiment of Christ’s love to those they help.
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