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Beth Boyd, who lives in Nevada and is a critical care nurse at Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, was in Baton Rouge, La., this past Saturday. Boyd is a member of the Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) from central Iowa. The team was organized following the 9-11 tragedy in 2001 and has been training for disasters ever since. Boyd said Katrina is the first disaster to which her team has responded.
With their housing and transportation needs taken care of by a Lions club in the Baton Rouge area and several local churches, Boyd said her team first set up a field hospital in an abandoned K-Mart facility. After two days and 483 patients, the group moved to the fieldhouse of Louisiana State University to see patients. Boyd said they may be moved again this week to another shelter.
The plan is for the DMAT team to stay in the South two weeks and work 14, 12-hour shifts during that time. Boyd said the team will probably return Sept. 18, and she said she plans to head right back to work in Des Moines upon her return.
Boyd said her role on the DMAT team has been to work in whatever capacity she is needed. She has worked with pulmonary patients and also spent time doing an immunization clinic one day for people who are involved in the rescue efforts.
She said she has heard a lot from the patients she has seen. "I've got stories ... like you wouldn't believe. It's pretty tragic," Boyd said. She said she's been keeping a journal so she will remember the things she's experienced.
Boyd said the kindness of the families she and her team members have stayed with has been wonderful. "You cannot believe the southern hospitality," she said.
While in Louisiana, Boyd said she has kept in touch with her husband, Jason, and three children by way of her cell phone. Boyd said she will speak more at length with the Journal when she returns from her trip.
