Meeting Mental Health Needs Following a Natural Disaster: Lessons From Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina had a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of Louisiana and Mississippi families. Housing was destroyed, jobs were lost, and family members were separated, sometimes in different states and without communication. Postdisaster stress reactions were common, with vulnerable individuals most affected. Mental health services were not adequate to meet immediate needs, and postdisaster … Continue reading “Meeting Mental Health Needs Following a Natural Disaster: Lessons From Hurricane Katrina” Learn More
Mental Health Services in Louisiana School-Based Health Centers Post-Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana school-based health centers (SBHCs) were called on to respond to a sharp increase in mental health needs, especially for displaced students coping with grief, loss, trauma, and uncertainty. To assess the impact of the hurricanes on the students and the needs of SBHC mental health providers (MHPs), we surveyed … Continue reading “Mental Health Services in Louisiana School-Based Health Centers Post-Hurricanes Katrina and Rita” Learn More
Building Integrated Mental Health and Medical Programs for Vulnerable Populations Post-Disaster: Connecting Children and Families to a Medical Home Introduction: Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane, made landfall in August 2005. Approximately 1,500 deaths have been directly attributed to the hurricane, primarily in Louisiana and Mississippi. In New Orleans, Louisiana, most of the healthcare infrastructure was destroyed by flooding, and >200,000 residents became homeless. Many of these internally displaced persons received transitional housing in … Continue reading “Building Integrated Mental Health and Medical Programs for Vulnerable Populations Post-Disaster: Connecting Children and Families to a Medical Home” Learn More
Establishing Permanent Mental Health Programs Post-Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Practice in Underserved Communities Impacted by Mass Trauma Operation Assist, a joint initiative of Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness and the Children’s Health. Fund was formed after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United States in August 2005. Mental health, medical, and public health professionals have spent one year addressing the needs of victims through direct work and research … Continue reading “Establishing Permanent Mental Health Programs Post-Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Practice in Underserved Communities Impacted by Mass Trauma” Learn More
Children and Megadisasters: Lessons Learned in the New Millennium Hurricane Katrina is America’s most recent encounter with a megadisaster. But what made it a megadisaster instead of just another category 3 hurricane of the type that seasonally exists in the Gulf of Mexico? Katrina was not the largest or strongest hurricane to strike the United States mainland in the recent past, but its effects … Continue reading “Children and Megadisasters: Lessons Learned in the New Millennium” Learn More
Challenges in Meeting Immediate Emotional Needs: Short-term Impact of a Major Disaster on Children's Mental Health: Building Resiliency in the Aftermath of Huricanne Katrina Disasters, whether resulting from terrorism or natural events, have a dramatic impact on the health and well-being of children. Studies after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York City and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and countless reports on the impact of natural disasters on children show that a child’s mental health … Continue reading “Challenges in Meeting Immediate Emotional Needs: Short-term Impact of a Major Disaster on Children’s Mental Health: Building Resiliency in the Aftermath of Huricanne Katrina” Learn More
A Critical Concern: Pediatrician Self-care After Disasters As of this writing, health care in the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina has shifted from emergency to primary care mode. Disasters take a heavy toll not only on victims but also on professionals and volunteers who experience the immediate, short-term, and long- term impact through their patients. The impact may occur because of the … Continue reading “A Critical Concern: Pediatrician Self-care After Disasters” Learn More
Mental health in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina: Science to Practice This article talks about the programs that were developed post-Katrina in accordance with the mental health facilities and care programs. The Children’s Health Fund was funded 20 years ago to provide medical services to underserved children and families through mobile units. We have found mobile units to be effective ways of delivering services to people … Continue reading “Mental health in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina: Science to Practice” Learn More
Identification and Evaluation of Mental Health and Psychosocial Preparedness Resources From the Centers for Public Health Preparedness An exemplar group of disaster mental health subject matter experts was formed as part of the CDC Center for Public Health Preparedness program to develop a “toolkit’ of relevant CPHP disaster mental health training and education curricula and resources. The group developed a charter, compiled relevant CPHP training materials, developed an objective review template, and … Continue reading “Identification and Evaluation of Mental Health and Psychosocial Preparedness Resources From the Centers for Public Health Preparedness” Learn More
