Getting out of Dodge

I am getting ready for an evacuation of our apartment here in the medical complex in Houston TX. We are looking to be hit by the now category 5 hurricance rita, and the area is bracing. I am extremely lucky, in that all my responsibilities as a physician this month are in clinics. Since they are shut down first, I am able to accompany my wife, Kristeane, as we scurry off to austin for shelter. MANY of my compatriots will be living out the hurricane in their apartments here, as patient duties do not cease if you are working in any of the hospitals. They have to stay. Those on overnight call on the weekend are actually now on default 48 hour shifts just in case roads are impassible for the relief shift. Bummer.
Hooray for being “nonessential personnel”. Hard on the ego, but safer…..
The Texas Medical Center is actually well prepared for this event, ironic compared to the catastrophe suffered many years back, but they learned well. It was just plain funny before walking by the new submarine blast doors in the underground tunnels every day on the way to work, but this morning they hit home in a different way. In the event of heavy rain, huge steel doors automattically shut NORAD style to prevent spread of water from area to area. In addition, all generators are in the top floor, and transportation contingency plans are on alert. they are serious. All hospitals here WILL stay open, with all neccessary staff on hand for all essential services.
It’s amazing how in the face of massive preparations, the medical staff here can maintain such levity. The cheif resident joked with us today, “if you are the backup for those on call this weekend, you have a good chance of being called in if the 1st in line is unable to get to the hospital…. however if you own a Humvee and wish to pick THEM up and DROP them off at the hospital instead, you are welcome to do so!.”
Wish the many patients being relocated from John Sealy and Shriner’s Hospital in Galveston the best of Luck.

On being hit smack dab with reality

Hello everybody, I’m Raul, Rico and Claudia’s cousin. I’ll write an about page soon, but to the subject I wanted to comment about:

Six Flags has officially announced that it will close ASTROWORLD at the end of 2005 and sell it. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3350688

It seems that the value of the land is now more than the operational profit of the park itself. So it will probably be razed in order to sell it to future owners. I will sob uncontrollably when I drive by and see a freaking Super Wal mart and Best Buy on the site wherer I forged many childhhood memories.

Don’t get me wrong, I in a way I understand. Land inside, or close to the inner loop in houston, is very coveted, so I can reluctantly accept the decision in a cold, calculated sense. Sentiment don’t pay the bills, and tranditional theme parks aren’t the ‘it’ thing for kids anymore.

Hell, even the nuns with the St. Joseph’s CHRISTUS group here in houston have decided recently to sell the long lived downtown St. Joseph’s charity hospital here and sell to private organizations because they can’t pay the bills and the land is worth too damn much. The nuns basically said that they can only perform charity if they can afford it. Unfortunately, the hospital depends on money from the church, and with the recent sex scandals ands subsequent lawsuits depleting some, ahem, coffers, from what I understand that broke the camel’s back and they had to sell. Good news is that I understand that it is most likely to be sold to another health organization that is private in nature and continue as a health care provider, but that would pretty much mean a severe cut of providing health care to those who can’t afford it.
But that’s what we have underpaid medical residents for though, huh?