Hospital Donation Update
I wanted to thank everyone for their incredible efforts since Friday to send aid to the Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Gonzales, LA. The first tractor trailer truck filled with approximately 22-24 pallets of donations, including 5 pallets of medical supplies, arrived Sunday morning at 4:30am. Immediately, some of the medications were put to use within the hospital.
As dawn broke, a local shelter had called St. Elizabeth’s Hospital asking for diapers, formula and other supplies for babies since they had run out. St Elizabeth’s Hospital was able to help with all of the baby supplies and toys that we sent. By mid day, three shelters were supplied with clothes, shoes and toiletries. These shelters have hundreds, if not thousands, of evacuees. One of the shelters in Gonzales that our donations went to has 2,300 people. Another shelter that our supplies aided was the Field House at LSU in Baton Rouge which is housing thousands of people.
Your donations gave people a change of clothing that they had not had all week. Your donations gave them the ability to brush their teeth, use deodorant and shampoo, often for the first time all week. To see the looks on faces of evacuees receiving a simple packet of toothpaste and a toothbrush, you would think it was Christmas morning. The pallet of can liners was distributed to evacuees to carry their life’s possessions. St Elizabeth’s hospital was running very low on toilet paper - we supplied some toilet paper.
Thanks to Wellstar Hospital’s generous donations of medications and medical supplies, we were able to help St Elizabeth’s Hospital in Gonzales, Louisiana, a hospital set up in the local Kmart, the Pete Marevich Makeshift Hospital on the campus of LSU, a makeshift hospital in St. Bernard Parish, and several National Guard Field Hospitals.
Thirty of the central lines were sent to the Pete Marevich Makeshift Hospital and put to use immediately Sunday afternoon. By Monday afternoon, out of the 100 central lines sent, only 2 were left. Two Blackhawk-like helicopters came to get some of the medical supplies Sunday night including antibiotics and central lines and took them to the St Bernard Parish further south of Baton Rouge which had run out of many supplies. Various National Guard Units with Field Hospitals with 50 patients or so were out of IV tubing today. We were able to supply this to several of these field hospitals. All of the supplies sent helped to save lives or to give comfort to those affected by this disaster.
Many more medical supplies are needed and there will be ongoing needs for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes. We plan to have another tractor trailer leaving Atlanta for Louisiana on Wednesday or Thursday.
We have already collected since Sunday, half of a tractor trailer full of your donations of clothing, toiletries, baby items, and first aid. We are still asking local hospitals to assist with more medical supplies.
We are still collecting your donations until Thursday. Some of the greatest needs are for baby formula, diapers and wipes, toiletries such as shampoo, deodorant, soap and first aid items such as bandaids, bandages, nonsterile gloves, and paper products.
Once again, thank you!