NEWSBYTRACIE L. WASHINGTON, ESQ.

There can be no doubt that recovery all along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and, more than three years later, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike, has stalled, and stubborn politicians combined with seemingly intractable bureaucracies have failed victims most in need. There could be no greater symbol of this failure than the empty, boarded-up Charity Hospital.

Charity Hospital - the soaring Art Deco-era facility that handled the most severe trauma cases in the region and trained thousands of this nation's best physicians, sits shuttered due to greed and neglect. This is the hard truth, and until we deal with that incredibly harsh reality, thousands of sick residents will go without needed health care, languish, suffer and die, or we will never regain the vibrant population this region needs to reach its full potential as the nation's Third Coast.