Church provides model for sheltering evacuees on dialysis
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A UMNS photo by Gayle Hausmann Louisiana Memorial has set up cots for dialysis patients at its shelter.
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Dialysis
patients evacuated because of Hurricane Katrina are quartered in a
special shelter at Louisiana Memorial United Methodist Church in
Opelousas. The shelter is possibly the first of its kind, based on a
model designed by area renal physicians. A UMNS photo by Gayle Hausmann.
Photo #05H110. Accompanies UMNS story #530. 9/23/05 |
Sept. 23, 2005 By Betty Backstrom* OPELOUSAS,
La. (UMNS) — The Rev. Dale Hensarling saw what happened to evacuating
dialysis patients after Hurricane Lilly hit the state in 2002. “These
patients were a group of people who escaped death, only to die later
because they couldn’t get dialysis in a timely manner,” said Hensarling,
pastor of Louisiana Memorial United Methodist Church. Renal
doctors have shared Hensarling’s concern regarding evacuees on dialysis.
In the aftermath of the series of devastating hurricanes that have
pummeled Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, renal doctors from
throughout the country have produced a model for a shelter designed
specifically for patients needing help with their kidneys. Louisiana
Memorial United Methodist Church, housing evacuees from Hurricane
Katrina, is perhaps the first such shelter emerging from the model.
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A UMNS photo by Gayle Hausmann Church volunteers prepare meals for the dialysis patients at the shelter.
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Church
volunteers prepare meals for the dialysis patients sheltered in their
church, Louisiana Memorial United Methodist Church in Opelousas. The
cooks carefully select recipes appropriate for the special health needs
of the guests. A UMNS photo by Gayle Hausmann. Photo #05H111.
Accompanies UMNS story #530. 9/23/05 |
“Two days after the storm hit, we were up and running,” Hensarling said.
“This was critical because we needed to be prepared to receive patients
as soon as they arrived.” Dr. Paul Miller, who operates a
dialysis clinic in Opelousas, was instrumental in guiding the south
Louisiana church through the process of opening and its ongoing
operation. “Dr. Miller was invaluable, as were our contacts with the
Office of Public Health,” Hensarling added. A comforting aspect of
this shelter is that the church can house not only the patients, but
their family members as well. “This can be critical to the well-being of
the patient,” the pastor said. “We have one 12-year-old and a number of
elderly who not only need their family for emotional support but for
physical support as well.” Housing the shelter at the church
allowed the staff and volunteers to provide a non-clinical atmosphere.
“People arrived frightened and exhausted. We tried to make the
transition for them as painless as possible. Everything we do and say is
to let them know that we are glad they are here,” said church member
Darlene Trosclair.
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A UMNS photo by Gayle Hausmann Children's artwork at Louisiana Memorial offers words of encouragement to the dialysis patients.
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Artwork
by members of "Good News Kids," the children's church program for
Louisiana Memorial United Methodist Church in Opelousas, offers words of
encouragement to the dialysis patients evacuated to the church. The
artwork was posted on the walls of the center where patients were
housed. A UMNS photo by Gayle Hausmann. Photo #05H109. Accompanies UMNS
story #530. 9/23/05 |
The population of patients rose to as high as 24 after Hurricane
Katrina, with an additional 14 or so family members and caregivers. That
number decreased as patients were placed in more permanent housing. The
remaining patients and staff were hunkering down as Hurricane Rita
approached Sept. 23.Housing the dialysis shelter is only one
component of the church’s ongoing support for the evacuees and their
families. The 12-year-old patient has been enrolled in a local junior
high school. Some adults have been placed in jobs in the Opelousas area,
often in their own fields of work. Church members are in the
process of finding housing, temporary and permanent, for evacuees.
Volunteers are lined up daily to transport the patients back and forth
to an area dialysis clinic in Eunice. The church itself doesn’t house
dialysis machines. Hensarling has even performed a wedding for a
couple living in the shelter with the young woman’s mother, who is on
dialysis. “Both the bride and groom were born and raised in New Orleans.
They had plans to marry soon in New Orleans, so they decided to have
the ceremony here with us,” he said.
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Photo by Freddie Herpin, Opelousas Daily World Larry Morris and Charlene Lee say their vows, with the Rev. Dale Hensarling officiating.
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Larry
Morris and Charlene Lee are wed at Louisiana Memorial United Methodist
Church in Opelousas on the weekend of Sept. 17-18. The Rev. Dale
Hensarling officiates. Lee's mother is a dialysis patient and hurricane
evacuee who was staying at a shelter offered by the church just for
dialysis patients. Photo by Freddie Herpin, Opelousas Daily World. Photo #05H108 . Accompanies UMNS story #530. 9/23/05 |
“I’ve always wanted a wedding in the church with my family around me,”
said Charlene Lee, the bride. “All of you at the church are my family
now.” A local bridal shop donated a dress and veil, and Hensarling loaned groom Larry Morris his tuxedo. “The
local paper asked permission to cover the event, and I said it was
fine, with the permission of the couple. My only stipulation was that
the photographer would agree to shoot a few extra pictures for a wedding
album,” the pastor said with a laugh. Not all the stories have
been quite as happy. One 20-year-old patient was separated from family,
who wound up in Dallas. Arranging his travel to reunite them is tricky
because dialysis patients often cannot tolerate long trips. “We’re
working on obtaining mercy flights right now for several of the
patients who need to be flown to their destination,” Hensarling said.
“Car travel is too risky to their health.” *Backstrom is editor of Louisiana Now!, the newspaper of the United Methodist Church’s Louisiana Annual Conference. News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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