Donald R. Smithburg, chief executive of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Care Services Division, says Hurricane Katrina has irreparably damaged Charity Hospital, built in the 1930s, and Tulane's University Hospital, constructed in the 1970s. Togeher, the hospitals treated more than 500,000 patients last year.
"The buildings have unsafe air, pervasive mold, and mechanical systems that were completely destroyed by the storm," he continues. "Collective damage for the two structures is more than $445 million." Only three hospitals are operating in New Orleans — East Jefferson, West Jefferson, and the Ochsner Clinic. Docked in New Orleans, the USNS Comfort, a naval medical ship with 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms, is receiving patients.