Nearly 6,000 Docs Displaced by Katrina

Nearly 6,000 Docs Displaced by Katrina
Researchers Say Nearly 6,000 Doctors Were Displaced by Katrina; Effect on Health Care Unknown
By NATALIE GOTT Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. Sep 27, 2005 — Nearly 6,000 doctors along the Gulf Coast were uprooted by Hurricane Katrina in the largest displacement of physicians in U.S. history, university researchers reported Monday.

How many of those doctors will set up shop permanently in other cities, or decide to retire instead of reopening their practices, remains as unclear as New Orleans' future.

"We don't know what this is going to mean to health care," said Dr. Thomas Ricketts, who led the study by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "We've never had to deal with something like this before."

The study was released the same day that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said residents of the city's Algiers section and business owners in other parts of the storm-ravaged city would be allowed back in to inspect property and clean up. But he cautioned those returning that the city remains without critical hospital services.
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http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1162829

"That number covers doctors caring for patients, not those who are administrators or researchers, said Ricketts, a professor of health policy and administration at UNC's School of Public Health."