Systematic Violence: Neglect and Morbidity in Post-Katrina New Orleans

The American Medical Association recently published a groundbreaking study by Dr. Kevin Stevens about pre-Katrina and post-Katrina death rates in New Orleans. The study entitled, “Excess Mortality in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: A Preliminary Report,” explores the failures and shortcomings of post-Katrina medical care in New Orleans. The study found that there has been a nearly 50 percent increase from the baseline mortality in Post-Katrina New Orleans. The report states that “the causes for this dramatic increase in mortality rates can be linked back to how Katrina “severely compromised the public health infrastructure … [and] … it is suggested that a destroyed or poorly recovered public health infrastructure, which normally would be able to identify health problems and protect the health of a population, has in fact contributed to excess mortality.”