Watching the news reports on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Sachin Parikh (M.D. ’05) assumed his home in Orleans Parish was a total loss, but he still he felt fortunate.

"I am just thankful for our health, after what I have heard and seen on television," he said.

Less than two full months into his otolaryngology residency at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, Parikh found himself among the tens of thousands of people fleeing the city ahead of the storm.

“We made it to Baton Rouge on Saturday night before the mad rush," Parikh wrote four days after the storm in an e-mail to reassure the faculty and staff at FSU. "I have lots of good food, shelter, and all the basics so do not worry about that."

The founder of FSUCares, a student organization at the College of Medicine dedicated to medical outreach, Parikh was quick to pitch in where he could to help hurricane victims.

"Since our arrival, I have started to work volunteer shifts at the LSU campus, where makeshift hospitals and shelters have been set up at the field house and the basketball arena," he wrote. "As you can imagine, the situation for those less fortunate is terrible and there is only so much we can do."

Parikh later learned that his house somehow escaped the flooding and had only minor damage. His residency program was less fortunate. With renewed flooding from Hurricane Rita, it will be some time before the teaching hospitals in New Orleans are back up and running, and LSU residents have had to shift to other teaching hospitals both within the LSU system and elsewhere.

With his trademark positive attitude, Parikh related the experience back to lessons learned as a member of the first class of a new medical school.

"From turmoil great opportunities can arise," he said, adding that he was confident in the leadership of the LSU Health Science Center. "The LSU system is here to stay. They want to provide service to their patients."

Parikh can be contacted at sachin.parikh@med.fsu.edu. On behalf of the otolaryngology department at LSU, he welcomes assistance with the LSU Health Science Center's rebuilding efforts, particularly from ENT physicians.