{"id":229989,"date":"2020-08-31T12:31:02","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T17:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=229989"},"modified":"2020-08-30T23:44:30","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T04:44:30","slug":"hurricane-laura-medical-professionals-keep-babies-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/hurricane-laura-medical-professionals-keep-babies-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"During Hurricane Laura, these medical professionals fought to keep 19 babies safe"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Thousands of people from Lake Charles, Louisiana, were forced to evacuate as Hurricane Laura approached from the Gulf of Mexico last week. The powerful Category 4 hurricane threatened 150 mph winds and catastrophic storm surges, causing nearly one million people to flee from Texas and Louisiana, with the Lake Charles area ultimately the hardest hit. Yet a small group of brave people remained behind to care for babies who weren’t able to leave.<\/p>\n

Nineteen babies remained in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, and a team of 14 nurses, two neonatal nurse practitioners, three respiratory therapists, and one doctor stayed behind to make sure they stayed safe. Some of the babies weighed as little as one pound, others relied on ventilators, feeding tubes, and respirators, and some were born premature as early as 23 weeks. The team slept in shifts when they could to make sure someone was always caring for the babies.<\/p>\n

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“It’s important to know the dedication of all the nurses and the respiratory therapists to keep taking care of the babies when they don’t even know the condition of their homes,” Dr. Juan Bossano, a neonatologist, told CNN<\/a>. “In a small town like this, people have to pull together. I’m proud of them.”<\/p>\n