Preliminary report of impact and loss of Louisiana public hospitals' workforce following the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita disasters

In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused severe flooding and loss of life in Louisiana. All of the eight Health Care Service Division (HCSD) public hospitals and clinics were affected and several were forced to evacuate or close. We studied the impact and stress on the HCSD workforce.

A web-based self-reported anonymous survey including stress level, SF-Mental Health scale, impact and severity of loss was sent to 3104 HCSD employees three months after the disasters. Descriptive and bivariate regression analyses were used.

Of the 375 valid responses received, 40.1% of the respondents evacuated, 17.4% relocated temporarily or permanently, 78.3% reported damage to their home, 96.2% had damage to their community, 27% had income reduced equal or greater than 10%, and 75.2% reported personal loss. 24.7% of the respondents felt their work experience was traumatic; 46.2% felt their personal experience was traumatic. Post disaster, 5.9% of the respondents were seeing mental health professionals for hurricane related problems. Rated stress level showed significant negative relationship with SF-mental health scores (R-square=0.170, P<0.001). Marital status, facility worked during the hurricanes, events suffered during the hurricanes and all of the factors mentioned above had significant relationship with the stress level respectively (significance levels were all <0.001). In addition, 48.1% of the respondents felt ready for the next hurricane seasons.

In addition to the disaster related loss of health care services, public health officials should consider the level of personal loss and the stress experienced by the workforce following a disaster.