I'm an intern at the LSU EM residency program, and to clarify a few things:
1) Charity the building no longer exists, that's true. It was shut down after Katrina and the money from the insurance was used to build a new building, University Hospital which is due to open August 2015. Currently the EM residency runs primarily from the LSU Interim Hospital Emergency Department, which is near the university hospital. We are the only level one trauma center in the city, and this is where all the traumas come. It is a smaller hospital and smaller ED than charity and what university will be in a few months but we are still able to handle all of the cities traumas, and the high acuity and patient load that we receive (granted its cramped at times and the ED wait time can be long).
2) The faculty here are amazing, many were graduates of the old "charity" EM residency that everyone talks about and they are bad ass emergency doctors who are not only compassionate but are fantastic teachers and physicians. They can literally handle ANYTHING but yet they give residents a lot of freedom to make decisions and "run the show", they will only step in when necessary, but they are always there to have your back.
3) The residents are unlike any other emergency medicine program I interviewed at. Many residents here have their MPH and they are truly invested in helping out the community in which this hospital serves. This residency is not about going to the hospital for your required shifts and leaving, there is a broader line of thinking here and that's what I love most about the program. There is a dedication and responsibility to be leaders in care of the LARGE underserved community here in new orleans.
4) The pathology of the patients we see here is unmatched. we see more penetrating trauma here than anywhere in the country (only secondary to Americans who served the Iraqi war !!). We have the second highest rate of HIV in the country (secondary to baton rouge louisiana), and as a result we see TB, advanced syphillius, mycobateria mengitis/pneumonia, PCP and disseminated HSV on a fairly regular basis. It is comparable to a war zone in a third world country down here and literally you will leave this program able to handle anything!
I cant say enough amazing things about this program. Yes, we are underfunded and have been working out of a sub par building for many years, but that is soon to change. And yet, even despite all of the things that have been working against this residency program since Katrina, it has not only survived but flourished. They have had to deal with every bad thing that could happen to a residency program, so yes it is flawed but amazing it is a well run machine that keeps on going. It is a superior EM program, with kick ass residents and faculty, who are as awesome as this city is.
