When Category 4 Hurricane Laura hit the city of Lake Charles in Louisiana, a mandatory evacuation was ordered including hospitals. Unfortunately 19 premature babies in ICU could not be moved so leaving was pretty much impossible.
Staff members at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital were adamant: If the babies couldn’t be evacuated safely, they’d remain behind with them until the danger passed.
A team of 14 nurses, two neonatal nurse practitioners, and three respiratory therapists stayed behind in the NICU, caring for their tiny charges in shifts as the storm raged through the night.