June 6, 2024
By: Makynzi Sprague
Surge Barrier and Ochsner Health System Tours
Today, we started our day off at 8am with some breakfast, before getting into a discussion on our experiences from yesterday’s volunteer work. This lecture focused primarily on the role of nonprofits and how they fit into the scope of Emergency Management. Mutual aid organizations like Louisiana Just Recovery Network to fill the gap between what individuals can do for themselves and what aid is available from the government. However, national nonprofits like the Red Cross get significantly more donations and funding despite having less knowledge and connections within the community they are assisting. We also discussed a trend of larger nonprofits choosing to use professional contractors over volunteers and how this may impact recovery after disasters.
Following this talk, we got in the van and headed to New Orleans East, which we were told had a very large Vietnamese population compared to other parts of the US because of immigration from South Vietnam following the Vietnam War. We arrived at the Flood Protection Authority tour where we saw the city’s surge barrier which is an important part of a $14.5 billion Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System that was completed in 2011. Construction began in 2006 when the Army Corps of Engineers designed and built the system in response to the devastation from Hurricane Katrina and the Levee failures. We were able to see them close the sector gate which is one of three gates that can open or close in case of rising water levels. We also discussed how this barrier can be operated remotely so workers do not have to be on site during severe flooding events.
For lunch we went to Dong Phuong, which is a Vietnamese restaurant and bakery. We tried things like pho, vermicelli, and milk tea. We also got a couple of items from the bakery to bring back to the dorms.
After we ate, we had another tour with the Ochsner Medical Center’s Emergency Manager, who just happens to be an MMA EM alumnus. We were told about the responsibilities of Ochsner’s emergency management department which includes updating plans, fostering community relations, designing and attending drills, and hurricane preparation. This can be extremely challenging because of the wide variety of hazards that must be considered, the amount of resources needed to keep a hospital running smoothly, and issues with moving patients with specialized needs. The Emergency Operations Plans that are used during incidents outline the baseline actions to be taken but response must be adapted for each situation. We also learned about their Incident Command System and how responsibilities are delegated during a disaster. Lastly, we were able to go to a warehouse containing high water vehicles and boats that are used for transportation between different medical centers during flood events.
After our second tour of the day, we went to a middle eastern restaurant called Lebanon’s Café for a nice dinner full of trying new things. Then, we returned to Tulane where we had a discussion on homelessness and how it relates to disasters and decisions made in emergency management. This will help us to get some context on the volunteer work that we will be starting our morning with tomorrow.
