Hurricane victims from New Orleans desperately need
medical attention, and there are not enough doctors
available to meet all of their needs. However, the
federal government has not yet accepted Cuba’s offer to
send 1,100 doctors with more than 20 tons of medicine.

The front page of the Saturday New York Times features
a grim photo of elderly patients -- some in critical
condition -- lying on conveyer belts and s-retchers at
the New Orleans airport. There is not a nurse, doctor,
or hospital bed in sight. A Times article explains that
more than 2,000 patients were evacuated there from
hospitals, and many died while awaiting evacuation to
another hospital. As a Saturday headline on WLBT-TV,
Jackson read: “Many dying at airport for lack of
medical care.” As of Friday afternoon, a few hundred
patients remained.

Shelters housing evacuees were also unable to fully
meet their medical needs. An Associated Press article
entitled “Astrodome Triage Center Treating Hundreds”
discusses more than 11,000 refugees at the Astrodome
with only 50 doctors to attend to their needs. A
doctor who ordinarily treats only 30 patients in an
eight hour day saw 50 patients in four hours.

The need of those still trapped in New Orleans itself
is even more dire, where minor cuts can quickly become
dangerous infections due to the toxic waters, and where
for five days people have been without adequate food,
water, medications, sanitation, and other necessities.
By Saturday night, a typical news headline read, “New
Orleans Left for the Dead and Dying.”

One of the many examples of evacuees’ suffering from
medical neglect was the San Antonio Express’ account of
Lamar Fefie’s hand:
Tears streaming down his face, Lamar Fefie thrust out
his swollen, rotting hand and bandaged wrist. He had
ripped open his wrist on a broken window while escaping
from the hurricane, he said.
"My hand's dead," he cried. "I can't even move my
fingers. I ask police to take me to the hospital, but
all they do is pull guns on me."

News accounts continued to point to ever-increasing
numbers of residents seeking medical treatment, and the
ability of the already overworked healthcare personnel
to deal with the flow of patients is at a breaking
point. FOX News Medical correspondent Dr. Steven
Glorsky, working alongside other medical personnel to
treat evacuees in Baton Rouge, said “Many people might
think there are enough people here, and there are not.
We just need help.” He added, “We have a crisis in
there.”

Adding to the problem is decreasing availability of
medical supplies in New Orleans. Another problem is
that many of the evacuees seeking help simply do not
know what medications they are on, but they still need
them as soon as possible. Many hospitals and evacuees
lost their medical records due to the storm, and city
public health records are likewise lacking at this
time, exasperating efforts to properly medicate certain
patients.

With most of the city covered by standing water filled
with sewage, fuels, toxic chemicals, and unknown
numbers of corpses, officials and experts warn that
residents risk a host of health problems. For example,
there is also a concern these conditions create a
favorable atmosphere for mosquitoes to multiply and
spread West Nile Virus and malaria. Dr. Steven Garner
told FOX News, "These are highly contagious diseases,
and as people begin to experience the diarrhea and
vomiting, it'll spread because we have people in very
close quarters now in the Astrodome or wherever they
are."

Infectious disease expert Dr. Sanford Kuvin explained
to Palm Beach Daily News that the lack of adequate
medical care could result in dangerous outbreaks of
otherwise preventable and treatable diseases such as
cholera and hepatitis.

Officials and experts reiterated that New Orleans is
facing a public health crisis, and urgently needs
medical professionals and medicines. Governor Kathleen
Blanco declared a state of public health emergency,
allowing medical practitioners to register with the
Department of Health and Hospitals and begin working in
Louisiana without delay. And Health and Human Services
Secretary Mike Levitt told FOX News on Saturday that
relief efforts need more medical professionals and that
he is calling on individual practitioners to volunteer.

With patients across New Orleans receiving limited care
after enduring days in extreme heat and without
adequate water, food, medications, and electricity,
President Fidel Castro of Cuba offered on Friday to
send an initial 100 doctors to help deal with the
medical crisis, and to send 1,000 more doctors by
Sunday. But, the U.S. federal government has not
accepted the offer, as the death toll continues to
mount.