K10: Touro and New Orleans 10 Years Later

As New Orleanians, we pride ourselves on our welcoming spirit. No one is a stranger.  Everyone is a part of the same community.

Here. For Life.

For over 160 years, Touro has provided excellent medical care to our city.  Touro certainly has a great importance in my life.  It is where my mother and I practice medicine, where I met my lovely wife, and where my three children were born.  After all, everyone knows babies come from Touro.

Today, I serve as the President of the Touro Medical Staff.  Ten years ago, I was one of the physicians providing care during Hurricane Katrina.  The Touro disaster plan was activated on Saturday, August 27, 2005.  By the next day, our emergency staff of 600 employees was fully prepared to face whatever might come.  With over 250 patients and their families, Touro became the shelter for nearly 2,000 people.

Providing care for those who needed it most, when they needed most.

Despite many challenges, Touro opened the Emergency Room doors 28 days after the storm.  We were the first to be able to provide care to our community.  For four months, Touro was the only operating adult care hospital in Orleans Parish.

We rejoiced in the celebration of the first baby born in a New Orleans hospital after Katrina, a sign of the hope and promise for the future.  As New Orleans’ oldest not-for-profit hospital, Touro felt an obligation to this community. Our staff was treated with the same quality of care as our patients, which held us together during those trying times.

Post-Katrina New Orleans presented the opportunity for many residents to start anew, to find that silver lining.  With my heart and family invested, there’s no other place I’d rather practice medicine. The past 10 years have given me a deep respect for my fellow physicians and staff.

Our Touro family grew with more than a thousand new hires in the first year after Katrina. We are now second in the state for a single hospital in births, literally breathing new life into our city. Our oncology center doubled its patient intake, leading to further expansion of facilities. Touro’s rehabilitation center now provides comprehensive services for those with Parkinson’s disease, with state-of-the-art program called LSVT Big and Loud.

A Growing Hospital Family

In 2009, Touro joined with LCMC Health. As part of the LCMC family, Touro joins its sibling hospitals in dedication to the community through a focus on economic development, advanced research, teaching and clinical excellence initiatives.  We celebrate another year older, stronger, wiser and braver.

Our Touro family stood united through the worst.  It gave us the strength to become the Touro of today.  As we honor the ten-year anniversary of Katrina, we also celebrate our city’s revival. Let us remember where we have been and look to where we are going.

Dr. Royce Dean Yount is a cardiologist with Crescent City Physicians, Inc., and practices at Touro Infirmary. He is President of the Touro Medical Staff.