VCOM View Vol 11 No 1

VCOM-Louisiana Students Aid Hurricane Evacuees by Charles Regian

A ugust 29, 2021, marked the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In deranged fate, this day now also signifies the landfall of Hurricane Ida. A Category 4 hurricane, Ida ravaged South Louisiana and Mississippi, displacing thousands. Hundreds of evacuees from Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. John the Baptist parishes took shelter at the Monroe Civic Center. After these arrivals, Monroe Mayor, Friday Ellis, quickly realized that many evacuees lacked their daily medicine and basic necessities. This sparked a call from Ellis to VCOM-Louisiana’s Ray Morrison, DO, FACOS. From there, faculty members were contacted, students were organized and VCOM pounced on the opportunity to make an immediate impact in Louisiana. Around 90 students and faculty members arrived that Sunday afternoon and began to work on completing triage forms provided by the State. After hours of triage, the VCOM team finally had an understanding of what immediate demands needed to be fulfilled. From glucometers and insulin

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