Katrina: “Team UMC”

Good morning. 

It’s been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina hit Mississippi and the Gulf Coast with a raging, destructive vengeance that, in some ways, we continue to recover from to this day. The lives of countless individuals and many communities were changed forever on August 29, 2005, as the storm made landfall along the Gulf Coast, devastating cities and towns in Mississippi, Louisiana and other states. That day and the days, weeks and months that followed were hard – and certainly sad with the loss of lives and the destruction left behind.   

I was an attending in the emergency department during this time and will never forget the need for our services from those who were evacuating south Mississippi and patients locally who needed emergency care – sometimes because of loss of power at their home or where they routinely got their medical care. Power and supplies at UMMC were at a premium, too. It was rough, but as we have always done, we stepped up to help Mississippians in all the ways we could. Even while people were dealing with their own personal difficulties – lack of power and gas, displaced family and friends, even loss of loved ones and destruction of homes – the UMMC team did all we could to help others. As soon as possible after the initial storm surge, we had teams loaded up and headed south to assist and assess the damage and the medical needs. 

At this time, Dr. Dan Jones was vice chancellor for health affairs and provided the thoughtful guidance and support that he is well known for. From the days leading up to landfall through the effort to respond to emergent medical needs and start rebuilding, Dr. Jones’ leadership kept the UMMC ship afloat and on the right heading. Governor Haley Barbour was also an important voice of reason and reassurance during that time. I am grateful for the measured, calm and effective leadership these two men provided to all of us.  

As a medical center and a state, we learned so many lessons during the Katrina response. Now, we are much better prepared to respond quickly to disasters with a high confidence level from the standpoint of training, technology, communications capability, supplies and logistics. 

Today, I want to share a letter from Dr. Jones to the UMMC community included on the cover of the campus newsletter a couple of weeks after Katrina’s landfall. His words in this memo were meaningful to those of us who had spent the past two weeks in the throes of response and recovery, in many cases, at work and at home. I came across this letter recently, and it brought back the memories of how well Dr. Jones managed a tough situation and provided the type of leadership that we needed. 

To Team UMC: 

I have never been more proud to be a part of Team UMC. What I have witnessed on our campus in the last few days is the most remarkable thing I've ever seen in my life. Through commitment and personal sacrifice, Team UMC has stood at the front door to help organize the health care for the entire southern half of this state. 

Though most of you were inconvenienced by lack of power and water, by long lines to get gasoline and by other uncertainties, you knew UMC needed to be strong to serve the needs of others, and you came through. 

During this critical time for our state, many of you worked longer hours than usual. Many of you slept on our campus in between shifts to be sure that you would be here to fulfill your responsibilities. Many of you carpooled. Many of you got up in the middle of the night to wait in long lines for gasoline so that you could be here to do your job as part of Team UMC. And it wasn't just our health professionals who made this sacrifice. It was made by many, many members of our critical team - from housekeeping to food service to laundry service to security to physical facilities and on and on. 

To be certain our team was here in force to meet the needs of the hurricane victims, we needed a day care center. We had never operated a day care center before, but this last week you volunteered and you worked long hours and we met that need. Because gasoline availability was so uncertain, it seemed best that we operate our own service station to insure our employees had gas. In one day, through your efforts, we were able to secure gasoline, a station and qualified people from among our staff to operate the service station. 

And what amazed me more than anything else was that you did all this with smiles on your faces. I walked the halls to encourage you, but you encouraged me instead. Though you had many inconveniences to deal with in your own lives, it was not complaints that I got from you. Rather, it was your commitment to be here at your job. 

Thank you for what you do each and every day to help us to meet Mississippi's needs, but a huge thank you for the personal sacrifices you've had to make to help us fulfill our responsibilities these last difficult days. I have never been more proud to be a part of Team UMC. 

During our COVID years, I used a lot of what I learned during Katrina in my own leadership decisions. This memo reminds us, and we saw it again during COVID, that you are all #HealthCareHeroes and are crucial pieces of the puzzle that will form A Healthier Mississippi.