Hurricane Katrina's Ripple Effect: The Closure of Big Charity Hospital by Katharina Padilla

People for Public Art

alirandel19 — 2024-02-07 02:32:18 UTC

People for Public Art was founded by Monica Kelly in 2020 in order to create a tool for public art sponsorship and facilitation. According to the organization’s website, their purpose is to “fund, create, and document works of public art for the City of New Orleans and beyond. We are artist-run and community-informed. We use this platform to create works of art that reflect the stories of the people. We believe that public artwork should be anchored by social justice, and preserve narratives that are in danger of being silenced.” People for Public Art has three people on their board of directors and work with many local artists. Other projects include “New Orleans Queens of Sound & Soul”, a 7^th ward house float and permanent landmark focusing on female representation in the music industry, and “Memorial for the Hard Rock III: Bubba, Quinn, & Jose”, an installation honoring victims of the Hard Rock hotel collapse in 2019.

Big Charity Hospital

kpadilla2019 — 2024-02-07 21:29:16 UTC

Big Charity, released in 2014, showcases the experience of healthcare workers and patients in the hospital, Big Charity, following Hurricane Katrina. The documentary exposes the state government's false claims of providing rescue to all those affected by the disaster because no one came to rescue the workers and patients at Big Charity. The film also evaluates the politics of how Big Charity was forced to close its' doors to open a new hospital.

Introduction

kpadilla2019 — 2024-02-07 22:23:40 UTC

Known as the “safety net” hospital in New Orleans, Big Charity Hospital was famous for providing medical care, no matter the patient’s financial means. During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Big Charity Hospital’s basement was flooded, cleaned up, and then permanently closed. This hospital was the oldest operating hospital in the United States. Its closure took with it the medical care of thousands of people who would no longer be able to afford access to health care.

THE INTERSTATE, 2019

alirandel19 — 2024-02-07 22:26:23 UTC

The Spirit of Lower Mid-City

alirandel19 — 2024-02-07 22:34:03 UTC

The Spirit of Lower Mid-City is an art installation of 22 illustrated steel plates located in front of University Medical Center New Orleans LCMC Health. According to the description plaque, this project aims to highlight the industrial, residential, and healthcare histories of the area. Commissioned by Arts Council New Orleans for the City of New Orleans Percent for Art program, this project “celebrates the Tulane-Gravier community’s history and interprets its post-Hurricane Katrina recovery through residents’ eyes.” The Spirit of Lower Mid-City was designed by Monica Kelly and Nik Richard of People for Public Art.

Stranded at Big Charity

kpadilla2019 — 2024-02-07 22:34:53 UTC

New Orleans' streets were flooded as a direct result of levees breaking following Hurricane Katrina. Patients and workers were stranded at Big Charity for five days, without power. Healthcare workers went to extreme measures to adapt and keep their patients alive without access to technology. A doctor's father and affiliates took action to rescue those stranded themselves at Big Charity via boats.

WHERE DO YOU GO?, 2019

alirandel19 — 2024-02-07 22:35:47 UTC

Works Cited

alirandel19 — 2024-02-07 22:44:13 UTC

Frey, John. “Big Charity in New Orleans.” The British Journal of General Practice : The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2005, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1570789/.

“People for Public Art.” People for Public Art, www.peopleforpublicart.com/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2024.

Windstorm, Sam. “Abandoned Nola: Old Charity Hospital Shows Signs of Life.” 4WWL, 16 Nov. 2022, www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/orleans/charity-hospital-tulane-redevelopment-timeline-update/289-e689ce63-8118-4f0e-a2a7-d3893ea90022.

MacCash, Doug. “In Hospital Footprint, Sculptures Recall Lost Neighborhood Demolished after Hurricane Katrina.” NOLA.Com, 14 Jan. 2020, www.nola.com/entertainment_life/arts/in-hospital-footprint-sculptures-recall-lost-neighborhood-demolished-after-hurricane-katrina/article_4e006e80-2dae-11ea-9afc-a711259c4d30.html.

"Big Charity: The Death of America's Oldest Hospital." Directed by Alexander Glustrom, 2014.

The Closing of Big Charity

kpadilla2019 — 2024-02-07 22:47:15 UTC

As the city began assessing the damage and rebuilding, Big Charity was made functional with the help of the local government and volunteers. However, when the hospital was assessed by officials, they claimed it unfit to reopen. There is a lot of speculation about the tampering of the hospital to stop the doors from opening. Unfortunately, what was seen as a temporary closure was eventually deemed permanent.

What does this mean for New Orleans?

kpadilla2019 — 2024-02-07 22:48:08 UTC

The closure of Big Charity Hospital in New Orleans restricted healthcare access by reducing hospital beds, eliminating essential services, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations, increasing pressure on remaining hospitals, and disrupting medical education and training programs. After the closure of Big Charity Hospital, University Medical Center New Orleans (UMC) was built. Big Charity remains abandoned to this day with renovation plans for condos despite locals vouching for a mental health facility. Overall, the closure of Big Charity Hospital deepened existing health inequities in New Orleans, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to address healthcare access and disparities in the city.

University and Veterans Medical Centers

abigailnelson20 — 2024-02-09 06:01:35 UTC

After Katrina, two new billion-dollar hospitals were built just down the street from the old Big Charity building in the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans. In 2015, University Medical Center (UMC) opened in the shadow of Big Charity Hospital. Just a year later, the New Orleans Veterans Affairs Medical Center (NOVAMC) opened just across the street. Combined, the two new medical centers take up over 70 acres of land. Though UMC does provide financial assistance for some qualifying individuals, neither medical center provides the same level of free care that Big Charity hospital did.

Lower Mid-City Neighborhood

abigailnelson20 — 2024-02-09 06:29:28 UTC

The lower Mid-City neighborhood had been continuously occupied by working-class families. Before Katrina, the historic neighborhood had been the proposed site for the construction of a new medical center that would replace the popular Big Charity. However, the neighborhood had still been densely populated with residential and business properties. When the levees failed, Mid-City, like a vast majority of New Orleans, faced devastating consequences. Homes, shops, schools, and everything in between was severely damaged. Entire livelihoods were washed away in a flood of murky seawater. In the wake of the storm, former residents returned to the lower Mid-City to find a shell of their former neighborhood. Nevertheless, they persisted--repairing the ailing properties in order to regain some semblance of the neighborhood they had before. Yet, their goals were never met. After the hurricane, the government made the decision to raze the neighborhood in order to construct the new medical centers that stand today, despite the fact that the former Big Charity building is located just a few blocks away. As the former campus of Charity Hospital rotted, blocks of homes were destroyed in the lower Mid-City neighborhood. The very landscape of the neighborhood was leveled in a way that made it uninhabitable to former residents. Many former residents have relocated to other parts of New Orleans or outside of the city. As such, much of the history of the neighborhood is unaccounted for.

Access

abigailnelson20 — 2024-02-09 06:57:39 UTC

When considering both of the new medical centers, it is important to question who that space serves. For residents of the lower Mid-City neighborhood and the larger New Orleans community, Charity Hospital had acted as a safety net in an economically disadvantaged community. Though many of the buildings’ features were outdated and could have used some investment, the public hospital still served one of the largest populations of uninsured or underinsured patients in America. Though the Veterans’ Medical Center does provide excellent services to those who served in the military, the hospital does not provide care for non-veterans. This limits who has the ability to utilize the 31-acre-space the building encompasses. Similarly, the University Medical Center does not provide the same amount of low-cost care and financial assistance that Big Charity did, which further limits which individuals have access to these new “high-tech” places.

The Rescue

alirandel19 — 2024-02-09 16:17:13 UTC