How did hurricane Katrina affect your practice?

The flood waters rose four or five feet and contaminated everything in the office. I lost all patient charts, computers, chairs, x–ray equipment and furniture. Water or electrical fires destroyed any plugged in electronic appliance. A tornado ripped off the building’s roof, causing even more damage. Fear of looting and violence and lack of food and water made matters worse. The practice was located in a 16-office professional plaza that was destroyed. Predicting complications with dealing with multiple building owners and contractors in rebuilding the site, I chose to relocate.

A friend with an endodontic practice which survived the hurricane allowed me to temporarily lease one of his operatories. There was only room for a hygienist and myself in the 10 foot by 10 foot space. Prior to the storm, the New Orleans metropolitan area had about 2,000 dentists. Afterwards, to the best of my knowledge, we were the only ones left practicing in the area. We did everything we could to help including treating many medical emergencies. Power was re-established only because a medical facility was nearby. It was more like a M.A.S.H. unit than a regular practice with no air-conditioning and frequent power outages. We had no access to supplies such as analgesics, amalgam, resin, and sterilization equipment and did not receive deliveries or U.S. mail. Worse, no one had cash or the ability to pay for supplies or services.

How did you rebuild?

With the help of unemployment checks, food stamps, business interruption and property insurance claims, and a loan from the Small Business Administration, I cobbled together enough money to rebuild the practice. I secured an empty space and built a new office from scratch. It is located in Kenner, five miles away from our previous location.

We managed to decipher the names and phone numbers from some salvageable old patient records and began making nearly 3,000 calls. At first, only about 10% of our existing patients returned. Partially through word–of–mouth, about 75% of our original patients returned. Yet, many of our patients relocated or were never allowed back into their neighborhoods.

Patient treatment continuity was often difficult and informally scheduled. Follow ups and payments often depended upon trust and smiles as many patients did not have current telephone numbers, addresses or email access.

How would you plan for a disaster in the future?

I'll never have an office on the ground floor again. We’re located on the second floor in the new space. With hurricanes, we're fortunate to be able to get some warning ahead of time. Follow weather reports on progress of the storm, although admittedly that is difficult or impossible with tornados and earthquakes. Here's what I'd do next time:

• Send computers and backup files home with the office manager or store backups at another location
• Unplug all electronics including chairs, compressors, suction pump and heaters
• Remove all drugs including nitrous oxide
• Secure patient records
• Remove prescription pads

I was fortunate to be able to stay relatively secure in my house (albeit without power and ice), but I would have a backup plan for housing in the future. My employees provided immeasurable support. Make as much of a plan as possible for them as well.