As Hurricane Ivan barreled toward New Orleans and I-10 turned to gridlock, Richard Guthrie put his family in the car and sent them out of town without him. Instead of leaving, he went to work. As a doctor and the medical director of Ochsner Clinic Foundation, evacuation isn’t an option.

He isn’t alone. Thousands of healthcare professionals, police officers, firemen, and city and parish employees stay in the city during hurricanes so they can help people in need. Some volunteer to stay, others can be fired or disciplined for leaving. In all cases, their jobs are essential — they open emergency shelters, care for the sick, rescue residents in danger, and pick up the pieces after a devastating storm.

There’s no question of the damage storms can do. Guthrie was 4 years old when Hurricane Betsy hit New Orleans in 1965. "We boarded up the house, and I remember everyone in my family praying a lot when the wind was howling," he recalls. "The chimney blew off of the house, and when the storm was over, we drove around looking at the damage. I have a deep respect for what hurricanes can do."

Betsy took a toll on Ochsner as well. "The staff had to move patients into the hallways," Guthrie says. "Many of the windows blew out in the upper floors, so they had to tie ropes between the door handles to keep the doors shut."

Joyce Bruce, an American Red Cross volunteer for the past 24 years, has seen plenty of hurricane devastation first hand. She sets up shelters and food programs in emergency zones. Last year, she helped residents in Florida after Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. Two years ago, she helped North Carolina residents pick up the pieces after Hurricane Isabel. "It really brings you back to reality," Bruce says. "It reminds you that you are one of the lucky ones because you still have your house, you haven’t lost everything."

Still, the knowledge of the dangers doesn’t spur them to leave.
"When someone dials 911, they expect someone to show up to help them," says Bobby Black, the Chief of David Crockett Steam Fire Company No. 1 in Gretna. "It’s our duty to be here."

The sense of duty runs strong. The David Crockett fire station is run by a small paid staff reinforced by volunteer firefighters. The staff is required to stay in the event of a storm; the volunteers, however, are allowed to evacuate. Few of them do. "Normally, we’d have two volunteers on duty," says Dustin Costa, a David Crockett staff firefighter. During Ivan, nine volunteers reported for duty.

They didn’t think twice about putting themselves in danger to help others, Costa says. "We have a passion for this, and we don’t hesitate. When people run out of a burning building, we run in. We never stop to ask ‘should I be doing this?’ It’s our job."

Doctors and nurses express similar feelings. "We’re very mission driven: we’re here to care for the patients that are too sick to leave," Guthrie says. "We’re guided by a higher calling. You choose to accept personal risk when you become a healthcare provider; it comes with the job."

It’s a job that can be incredibly rewarding. "There’s a tremendous humbleness to being part of the big picture and opening a gate that allows us to help others," says Kay Wilkins, the CEO of the Southeast Louisiana Chapter of the American Red Cross. "Many of our volunteers aren’t scared, and there’s strength in the courage of others."

Courage or not, safety before, during and after a major hurricane is a top priority, although every agency handles hurricane preparation and safety differently.

At Ochsner, the doctors and nurses stay in the hotel on Ochsner’s campus. The hospital sets up special areas for staff family members who can’t evacuate, including pets, which are housed in the elevator lobbies in the parking garage. There’s also a day care center for staff members’ children. Employees are required to bring their own food and water, just in case the cafeteria — which is on the first floor — floods. Ochsner’s administrative staff sleeps in their offices. "I keep an air mattress in my office armoire," Guthrie says.

Bruce, and other Red Cross volunteers, board up their homes and prepare for the storm just like everyone else. "I do everything you do to get ready," she says, "except I don’t drive as far away."

The farthest Bruce will evacuate to in a storm is the North Shore because, if the hurricane is a Category 3 or higher, Red Cross volunteers and staff members convene either at their Covington office or at the Holy Trinity Church shelter. If it is expected to be a Category 1 or 2, they will ride out the storm in the Red Cross headquarters on Canal Street, then send out damage assessment teams as soon as the hurricane passes.

Firemen, who are often the first to respond when a 911 call is received, either take shelter at the fire station, or are given two-way radios so they can stay at home and respond to emergency calls in their neighborhood. Firemen are one of the few groups who actually respond to calls for help during a hurricane. "We send out trucks as long as we can," Black says. "Eventually the weather may become too severe and we’ll have to wait for the storm to pass before we can go out again."

According to New Orleans Police Department spokesman Captain Marlon Defillo, police officers report to their assigned districts before the storm. If the city opens shelters, some officers will be assigned to them as well. Officers, dispatchers and support staff work directly with the National Guard to respond to emergency calls immediately after the hurricane. "We seek shelter just like anyone else, then we immediately spring into action after the storm," Defillo says. "We have a plan in place. Every one knows exactly what they are supposed to be doing and where they are supposed to be in the event of a hurricane."

Even armed with a plan and a sense of duty, tension runs high. Most essential personnel are separated from their families, who have evacuated to safer areas. "Not being with my family is hard, and I feel bad that I can’t be with them," Costa says. However, knowing they’re safe is comforting. "Property can be replaced, family can’t."

Braving the storm without family can make it easier in some ways, says Black. "If your family is out of harm’s way, you can concentrate on helping others."

Of course, the worry works both ways. To salve the nerves of Red Cross volunteers’ families, "every staff member is given a cell phone so families can call and find out where their loved ones are at any time, day or night," Wilkins says.

"We do try to keep in touch with our families during the hurricane," says Warner Thomas, president of the Ochsner Clinic Foundation. "But they know that we are in a strong structure, we’re prepared and we’ll be okay. Our families also know why we’re here: to help others."

"Everyone is anxious because we just don’t know what is going to happen," Guthrie says, "but a corps d’esprit takes over when we focus on why we’re here in the first place. We remember that we’re here to save lives."

And the person they are helping "could be your mom or it could be you," Wilkins says.

Helping someone is the payoff for the risk. "All it takes is one blue-haired little old lady to say ‘thanks’ and it’s all worth it," Bruce says.