We can’t look back on the five years since Hurricane Katrina ripped through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama’s Gulf Coast communities without recognizing the extraordinary determination of the people who live there. When the wind subsided and the clouds cleared, more than 1800 people had lost their lives; and property damage was as high as $75 billion. But folks rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
Our job at the Department of Health and Human Services was to make sure the health system was there for them. There are families who have called the Gulf region home for generations, and they aim to call it home for generations to come. That’s why this Department worked quickly in the immediate aftermath of the storm to provide emergency services and supplies to the region, and it’s why we have set out to rebuild the health care infrastructure to meet Gulf communities’ long-term medical needs.
Fonte: White House