How Al Gore helped rescue 270 patients/evacuees

[quaoar]

I don't know if this has been previously posted. Couldn't find it in a search, so my apologies if this is a dupe.

This is a great story of how Gore was enlisted by the doctor from New Orleans who treated his son years ago to help get patients out of New Orleans. It's the story of cutting through the federal government's deliberate atempts to try to stop him.

Great read. What a shame Gore isn't serving his second term right now.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/7/164747/4155

THE FASTERCURES AIRLIFT FROM NEW ORLEANS

Greg Simon
President
FasterCures

On September 3rd and 4th, FasterCures worked with a small dedicated group of people to airlift approximately 270 medical patients and evacuees from the New Orleans airport to hospitals and shelters in Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. This is the story of how it happened.

On Thursday, September 1st, my friend Jill Chozen of San Francisco called to ask if I could put someone in touch with Al Gore. Dr. David Kline, the father in law of Jill’s friend Denise Kline, was stranded in Charity hospital in New Orleans. The situation was dire and becoming worse by the minute – food and water running out, no power, four feet of water surrounding the hospital and alligators eating corpses outside. David is a neurosurgeon and needed to take his patients out of the hospital as soon as possible. David asked Denise to find Al Gore for help because David knew Gore from operating on Gore’s son after a life threatening auto accident nearly 16 years ago.

I emailed Gore with Denise Kline’s number after speaking to Jill and got an answer immediately. Gore had phoned David in the hospital several times and ascertained that he was now on the way to an Apache Helicopter landing site with his patients. Things were looking up.

The next day, Friday September 2nd, I heard an NPR story that things were getting worse at Charity hospital – they were actually taking in more patients because the other nearby hospital –Tulane—was closed. When I arrived at work, I knew what we had to do –we had to evacuate medical patients from Charity to safety.

< snip >

[LiberalEconomist]

1. Al Gore is a good and decent man

What the corporate news and the GOP did to him in the 2000 election was a crime. Gore like Carter will continue to strive to improve the lot of humanity. Not only the United States but the world has lost a massive opportunity with Gore not being president. Just goes to show, crime does pay...if you are wealthy enough.

[Totally Committed]

2. Al Gore deserves to be commended for this act of compassion...

It has touched my heart in a big way.

TC