People are so thankful because health care has finally arrived after a long wait.

I've had several calls from people inquiring if we have rooms large enough for their whole family.

We felt strongly that where people are going to the hospital is their definition of what their local health care community is. If they want to go to a hospital 10 miles away, or they consider a hospital 30 miles away local, that's their choice.

Hundreds of people are lining up to take tests for infections, heart and kidney problems and dehydration.

Once the water subsides, once the basic services are restored, the biggest problems that people face are the mental health problems, ... When will life get back to normal?

In any case, seeing care for certain groups as an excessive cost reflects an arguably perverse way of thinking about health care in terms of human need. [...] In other words, care for the sick is an economic burden only in health care systems where profit is the bottom line and public services are underfunded and politically unsupported - that is, systems in which only market logic is considered legitimate.