[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12183]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            GRATITUDE FOR KATRINA VOLUNTEERS IN MISSISSIPPI

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, the way the American people responded to the 
loss and suffering wrought by Hurricane Katrina was probably 
unprecedented and surely unforgettable. We in Mississippi, and our 
neighbors elsewhere along the gulf coast, will always remember the aid, 
the labor, the rescues, the prayers--everything our fellow citizens did 
to bring us through that terrible ordeal.
  I wish it were possible to acknowledge every individual who came to 
assist us when we most needed them, but that honor roll is far too long 
for the Congressional Record. Moreover, their names, I am sure, are 
inscribed in a more important book, and their lasting reward will be 
much greater than our praise.
  I do want to take note of one particular group of volunteers from the 
State of North Carolina. On short notice, on September 2, 2005, more 
than 90 health care professionals left their homes and their jobs to 
come to Hancock County, where Katrina had left the towns of Waveland 
and Bay St. Louis in ruins. Because Hancock Regional Hospital was 
flooded, the Carolina volunteers created a field hospital that operated 
for 2 months and cared for more than 7,000 patients. During that time, 
more than 400 doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other health care 
professionals rotated through the facility, caring for local residents 
until Hancock Regional Hospital could again admit patients.
  These men and women selflessly served the people of Mississippi 
during one of the worst disasters ever to confront our country. One of 
them, I should point out, is part of the Senate's extended family. 
Chris Ogden, an RN, is the daughter of our own Joy Ogden, manager of 
the Senate's Appointments Desk at the North Door of the Capitol.
  To Chris, and to the more than 400 like her who brought hope and 
comfort to Hancock County, I offer the heartfelt gratitude of all the 
people of Mississippi.

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