Voices of Angels, by John Batty

Throughout the devastating winds, rising waters, and August heat, nurses stuck by their patients. They improvised new emergency procedures and methods of record-keeping and patient transport, all without power or reliable information. These angels saved lives while their world fell apart around them. Voices of Angels is a case study and planning guide essential for facilities facing hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, and a host of other issues that affect medical centers nationwide.

John R. Batty is an experienced psychiatric nurse who interviewed the nurses who treated patients during and after Hurricane Katrina. He and co-author Gail Tumulty presented the nurses’ experiences at an American Nurses’ Association conference. Batty’s research into hospital conditions and evacuations gave him unparalleled experience in disaster management. Batty, a former writer for First NBC Bank, lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Hurricane Boy, by Laura Dragon

Hollis Williams is a middle-school student in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. His father absent and his mother dead, Hollis and his siblings live with his grandmother. He dreams of reconnecting with his father, but Hurricane Katrina strikes and devastates his home and his plans. The young boy’s family is trapped on the roof of their house, waiting to be rescued. When help finally arrives, Hollis and his family are separated and sent hundreds of miles apart.

Laura Dragon is a psychotherapist who works with children and adolescents at River Oaks Hospital in New Orleans. Her work with children who were separated from their families during Hurricane Katrina formed the genesis of Hurricane Boy. Dragon earned a master of arts degree in addictions counseling, and a master of social work degree from Tulane University.

Lost in Katrina, by Mikel Schaeffer

This book offers emotional accounts of life before, during and immediately after Hurricane Katrina in St. Bernard, a parish that seemingly disappeared from the government’s sight. While President Bush was shaking hands with FEMA director Michael Browne on the fourth day after the storm, St. Bernard Parish residents were struggling to salvage what they could. Ordinary people did extraordinary things to save the parish that found itself almost completely submerged in floodwater.

Mikel Schaefer spent his early years in St. Bernard Parish and graduated from the University of New Orleans. He is an executive producer at WWL-TV, the CBS affiliate in New Orleans. He was among the staff honored for broadcast coverage during Hurricane Katrina, and WWL-TV was awarded the 2005 George Foster Peabody Award, one of only four television stations in the nation to be honored.