'Big Charity's" Emergency entrance at 11:25 pm as a hit and run victim arrives
In 1991 I spent 45 days immersed in three Louisiana Charity Hospitals, New Orleans, Shreveport and Lake Charles. Charity has always cared for the regions poor and is considered one the best teaching hospitals in America, if your no other reason than the sheer volume and variety of cases that walk through its doors.
"The poor of New Orleans have always known that Charity is the place to go for good, free or low-cost care...and for decades, Mother Charity has always been there for them..." -from the intro by Jill Jordan Sieder, from Acts of Charity, Louisiana Life Magazine 1991
Gunshot victim, Kendrick Connerly is rushed to emergency by Dr.
Kendrick Connerly, gunshot victim, is x-rayed in ER.
Gunshot victim, Kendrick Connerly grimaces in pain as a roomful
When Charity Hospital, New Orleans first opened, the nuns ran it.
The OB/Gyn clinic waiting room was formerly the nun's chapel.
Dr. Judi Binderman hands the 1st of Darlene Miller's twins to an intern.
Darlene Miller gets the first glimpse of her newborn twin daughter.
Darlene Miller's daughter, the second of fraternal twins delivered by C-section.
Walter Files, Jr. has been in the ER waiting room for many hours
Security guards are forced to restrain a belligerant patient. Dr
17 year old Doris Davis was stabbed in the back. She roams the h
Dorothy Bennett, Whitfield Mallard, Adaya White, and Orleans Par
The number of prisoner patients from the variouls statewide jail
An inmate patient shows off scars from an old wound. He was shot
Dr. Mike Agapos and Paul Maurer attends to Charles Edwards,
who has a broken nose after getting hit with a 2x4 by his girlfriend.
At "Big Charity", Dr. John Jones works to stabilize a patient.
A team of young doctors attend to a hit and run accident victim.
Dr. McSwain (r), a primary teaching physician in the ER, leads a
Charles Cox came to NO from Hammond when bones were broken from a motorcycle accident.
Dr. McSwain, the primary teaching physician, takes a group of in
X-rays of a patient in the psychiatric unit. The x-rays reveal t
Nathan Thomas, a homeless and unemployed welder was hitchhiking
W.O. Moss Regional Hospital in Lake Charles, La. has been downsi
At Moss Regional Charity Hospital, Dr. Yu attends to patients Ja
Dr. Sui Lit Yu has taken over much of the operation of Moss Regi
The downsizing of Moss Regional eliminated many departments. Obs
Shreveport: PTCA surgery (a balloon is inserted and inflated to
Dr. Warren Grafton leads sophomore medical students in the LSU P
Burn victim Ronald Barnes was transferred to Shreveport from New
Nurse Frances Hawkins changes the IV in George Tillmans's arm. M
Desiree Loeb, a health education coordinator for the NO Aids Tas
Aids patient Clarence Childress shows his knitting to social wor
Death in the ER. The victim of a motorcycle accident awaits tran
Death in the ER. The victim of a motorcycle accident awaits tran
Jeff Foster was stabbed 4 times by his girlfriend, who brought h
Title spread from "Louisiana Life"
In 1991 I got an assignment from Louisiana Life Magazine. In the early 90's National Healthcare was getting attention. Louisiana's Charity Hospital System had a unique was of caring for the state's underprivileged populations. My assignment was to spend a few on the story, but I immediately realized that this was a much bigger story. I asked if it was ok if I shot much, much more than asked. The magazine paid a space rate rather than a day rate, so they had no problems with that at all.
In all, I spent about a month and a half immersed in 3 of the states facilities, New Orleans, Shreveport and Lake Charles, each of which had some very unique features. I had a blanket release for all employees of the hospitals, but had to get signed releases from every patient photographed. The magazine ended up running 3 times the amount of images that they had originally intended. The story ended up winning a 1992 Press Club Award and It has been one of the most meaningful projects of my career.
page layouts from Louisiana Life Magazine.