flashlights in New Orleans hospital during flood

A New Orleans grand jury has declined to indict a head/neck cancer surgeon on charges of murdering 9 patients (through use of morphine) during the flooding of her hosptial during Hurricane Katrina.

In an interview on Newsweek.com, she mentions at least three times that it was pitch black and how dangerous it was. Emergency generator lighting failed after the first night. Everything was by flashlight.

Unfortunately, I have had to spend a lot of my work time in hospitals. I have noticed that they have cheap 2 D cell 99 cent plastic flashlights next to multithousand dollar electronic monitoring devices. Doctors carry cheap disposable penlights. While Katrina is a once in a lifetime disaster for one city, having long running efficient LED flashlights seems to be cheap insurance--since you don't want to be lighting candles and so forth in a hospital setting. The hospitals are on the cutting edge of medical technology, but in terms of lighting are in the 1950's.

How many times have we read about situations where people were in the dark without light, minimal light such as cell phone screens, or lights that didn't run long enough? Being in pitch darkness is like being blind. With efficient LEDs, there is almost no excuse to be in the dark anymore.

Unfortunately, most people think that those lights are just fine. Most of the general public grew up with the cheap lights and not seeing much else. It hurts to say it, but most people consider flashlights a cheap replaceable tool. Paying more for a light is unthinkable to them. People tend to learn from experience. If they had seen someone who had an LED light that lasted for days during the disaster, the lesson would not be forgotten. Until then, we are stuck with the cheap light being normal standard. All we can do is try to demonstrate and educate people. It's a tall order. :shakehead