By Juanita Graham, DNP, RN, FRSPH
Faculty Member, School of Public Health at American Public University
On August 29, Mississippi will commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the single greatest natural disaster ever experienced by the state.
Damages exceeding $125 billion encompassed all 82 Mississippi counties. A 30-foot storm surge wiped out 90 percent of the buildings along the Gulf Coast, 238 people died, and 67 people went missing.
Public health nurses from all over the state were deployed for disaster recovery efforts. I first saw the damage on September 1, 2005, just two days post-storm, after a nurse friend and I climbed through nearly a mile of debris to get to the beach. We saw what seemed like an endless line of bare foundations where stately and historic coastal homes had stood just a few days before. This past June, I spent three days on the coast and, regretfully, I must report that 10 years later, many of those slabs remain bare.
Mississippians are no strangers to challenges. The state has some of the worst health outcomes, including decades of leading the nation in the highest rate of infant mortality, a key indicator of the overall health of a population. We employ our humor and strength to get us through trying times like 
the Katrina disaster, which is well illustrated by this photo I took of a Rolls Royce and fern pillar parked next to the FEMA trailer that replaced these resident’s beach-front home. The photo also illustrates another point: The social determinants of health do not apply in times of disaster. One’s personal resources or attributes do not increase or decrease the risk of being the victim of a natural disaster.
Assessing Health Needs After Katrina
The state sought partners and resources to rebuild. One partnership was sought with the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) to help assess the needs of the Gulf Coast maternal and child health population. My research team was delighted to help CDC DRH pilot a survey tool designed for just that purpose. Utilizing a group of local nursing students as data collectors, the team interviewed more than 100 coastal women in waiting rooms of six federally qualified community health centers. The women were eager to tell their stories and many stood in line waiting to speak to a student, even after all of the small incentives had been disbursed.
Read the FULL ARTICLE on AMU’s In Public Safety blog.
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