Responding creatively to family needs of hospital staff: caring for children of caretakers during a disaster.

AUGUST 29: LANDFALL: We were ready for any disaster. As Hurricane Katrina headed straight for the Mississippi Gulf Coast, our hospital braced for what we knew would be a real disaster. The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC) had just revamped the disaster plan, adding an often overlooked child mental health piece that was primarily written by our social worker in the child development clinic. Our division of developmental and behavioral medicine had identified the needs and strategies for service in 3 major areas: one group would cover the emergency department to help with anxiety, grief, and separation issues; another would serve as a holding service for children not requiring hospitalization whose parents were missing or required hospitalization; the final group was in charge of any more severely affected children who required more intensive psychological services. I met with our division; we reviewed our plan and made assignments. We were very proud of our plan and ready to implement it. The UMC administration encouraged nonessential personnel to go home to be with their families as the weather worsened in Jackson, Mississippi, 200 miles from the Gulf Coast. Katrina was predicted to still be a hurricane when it got to Jackson, which tested our plans for the UMC to remain open.