Like most people in America and around the world, Dr. Joseph G. Ferko III, DO, MS, watched the unbelievable devastation of Hurricane Katrina unfold on television. As a disaster mitigation specialist, he knew his expertise would be essential to the residents of the devastated Gulf Coast region. After receiving requests from the state of Louisiana, he went to New Orleans just hours after the hurricane, bringing with him a 10-pound “miracle in a box” — a “portable” ICU — which was used as part of a small, mobile hospital to keep several patients alive on the front lines of the disaster response.

After the storm, several New Orleans hospitals were flooded and evacuated, and makeshift hospitals were set up at Louisiana State University and the New Orleans airport. These sites became the temporary home for displaced critical care patients and others suffering from new ailments including cardiac failure, dehydration and diabetic complications. Some of these patients were monitored and kept alive with the portable ICU.

With this technology, caregivers can be assured that patients in emergency situations are responding to their treatment by constantly monitoring vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure. The portable ICU is a self-contained central monitoring system that receives displays and stores the vital sign information of up to 12 patients from either a wireless or hardwired system of monitoring devices.

“It was similar to a war zone,” Dr. Ferko remarked about his experience in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “We all lacked even basic medical items, and the portable ICU was a vital part of keeping injured people alive amid the destruction.”

While Hurricane Katrina presented a set of unique challenges for healthcare workers, many are dealing with similar and even more difficult issues every day on the battle lines in Iraq. As pointed out in a recent New England Journal of Medicine article, ¹ the U.S. military medical system has made fundamental—and apparently effective—changes in the strategies and systems of battle care, even since the Persian Gulf War.

These new technologies allow first responders in an emergency to establish treatment areas so patients can be stabilized and monitored when transportation is not available or if hospitals are overloaded. These centralized surveillance centers also allow for a smaller number of healthcare professionals to continuously monitor multiple patients.

Nimble, small teams, called Forward Surgical Teams (FSTs), and their advanced equipment have been a key part of this change. FSTs are equipped to move directly behind troops and establish a functioning hospital with four ventilator-equipped beds and two operating tables within 60 minutes.¹ They are armed with advanced technologies including handheld ultrasound machines, portable monitors, oxygen concentrators and transport ventilators to treat the wounded. These teams can treat soldiers within the first hour of being wounded, often preventing death.

Dr. Ferko is optimistic about the future of these new technologies and their use in saving lives in emergency situations. While he prays to never see another tragedy like Hurricane Katrina, he knows that these innovations can be a beacon of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. “With these technologies, we are prepared to handle medical emergencies that a decade ago would have meant certain death,” he said.