Dr. Billings’ successful practice was severely damaged in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Business operations suffered while his patients and staff dealt with the widespread destruction of the area’s homes and businesses. To make matters worse, his first-floor office was located in Arabi in St. Bernard Parish, one of the hardest-hit areas when the levee gave way. Flood waters 14 feet deep devastated everything – patient charts, x-rays, chairs and supplies.

A lucky break — and a fresh start

Fortunately for Dr. Billings’ practice, a laptop computer with access to patient names, addresses and phone numbers survived the damage. He set up a temporary shop at a colleague’s office to care for patients with treatment in progress. Then a new facility was secured at a nearby mall to continue seeing patients. Patients, many who traveled across the region, sought Dr. Billings’ services after noticing local paper advertisements or hearing about his practice via word of mouth. “Our friendly, homey practice and close relationships with our patients seems to have worked” Dr. Billings noted.

While the temporary sites helped during the 20 months following the crisis, ultimately a new building was needed to fully restore his practice. Through the safety net of business interruption and flood insurance, Dr. Billings secured a new lease for an office 14 miles away in Metairie, LA, and purchased replacement equipment. The staff of eight reassembled and business soon grew back to nearly 75% of previous levels. Now, his patient base is fully restored to pre-Katrina levels.

Lessons learned

Dr. Billings says, “It was worth it to be well-insured. It made the difference between being wiped out and struggling to put the practice back together.” In some ways, there have been improvements to the practice too. The office has gone completely paperless, saving additional costs over the long run. Dr. Billings also sees value in the necessity of acquiring new equipment to replace the old office that had grown in a piecemeal fashion over the years.

His advice to others is worthwhile, regardless of region:

• Obtain and evaluate your property and business insurance coverage on a regular basis
• Secure your patient data so that it is readily available if your office is destroyed
• Backup business and patient information daily
• Store secure electronic copies of files at another location daily
• Keep your patients informed about how to reach you following a disaster

“I’m back on the first floor in the new location. This is our home,” Dr. Billings said, “We’re here to stay.”