Saint Clare's CEO Reflects on Time in New Orleans During and After Hurricane Katrina
August 30, 2010
Saint Clare’s Health System's President and CEO, Leslie Hirsch, was recently featured in an article in the New Jersey Herald, reflecting on his experience with Hurricane Katrina, a storm that ranks as one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.
The New Jersey Herald article, published on the storm’s 5 year anniversary, details Hirsch's time spent in New Orleans as CEO of Touro Infirmary – a position he held prior to accepting his post at Saint Clare's in April 2008 – during and after Hurricane Katrina.
Hirsch led the New Orleans healthcare system through recovery from Hurricane Katrina. He joined the health system one week before Hurricane Katrina, and he led the evacuation of more than 200 patients. Twenty-seven days later, Hirsch led the reopening of Touro, the first hospital in New Orleans to reopen, and restored operations to near full capacity within one year.
Excerpt from the story:
“I never, ever experienced or felt the power of storm like I did with Katrina…We were the only adult acute care hospital in the city that was not flooded out,” Hirsch said.
View the full article via the New Jersey Herald by clicking here.
