Background: Oncology services at Charity Hospital were discontinued following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Medical oncology and chemotherapy services resumed at the Louisiana State University Interim Public Hospital in 2007. Demographic, clinical, and displacement data of the re-established patient cohort were reviewed.
Methods: Patients evaluated in the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) Oncology Clinics from September 1, 2007, to August 31, 2009, were identified and data collected included time from diagnosis of malignancy to initial oncology evaluation, insurance status, percentage displaced for six months or more due to Hurricane Katrina, ethnicity, referrals for radiation oncology, and the number of outpatient clinical encounters (OCE).
Results: 464 patients were evaluated in the study time period. Sixty-five percent of the patients had new cancer diagnoses and 35% re-established cancer care in the Charity System and a substantial proportion were either unfunded or had Medicaid coverage. Thirty-four percent were confirmed to be displaced from New Orleans for greater than six months and the majority of patients were black. The majority of new cancer diagnoses were breast, lung, and colon cancer. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients made up 7.5% of the patient cohort. There was a 70% decline in patient volumes following Hurricane Katrina.
Conclusions: Oncology services for a minority-based, underinsured patient population were severely impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Following the storm, persistent systemwide resource limitations led to suboptimal timeliness of medical oncology evaluations. Health care systems serving underinsured patients require a disaster plan to minimize interruption of oncology care. Our experience illustrates the need for resources to ensure rapid re-establishment of care for economically disadvantaged patients following natural disasters.