An e-mail:

I’ve been following the comments on this at The Corner and I certainly share
the views expressed about who should NOT get this award. I’d like to take a
moment to put in a word about who should:
The fine men and women at Charity Hospital deserve that award or no one
does. The doctors, nurses and other medical professionals stayed at their
posts despite the grueling conditions. There was little food and water,
spotty electricity, dwindling supplies and few of the most basic necessities
we normally consider vital to patient care. They waded around in water in
the halls, worked long shifts and rendered the best care they could under
the circumstances. Many of these undoubtedly had homes they were concerned
about and families who had left them there before moving to safety. Some
probably had concerns about family members who didn’t evacuate.
After days of working in hellish conditions, they themselves began to
succumb to the effects of exposure, dehydration and stress. According to a
report heard on NPR, they were treated at a hospital across the lake once
their relief arrived and the last patients were evacuated from Charity.
In short, these men and women upheld the finest ideals of the Hippocratic
oath, their profession, and the finest tradition of the American spirit.
I would hope that people of influence in the media such as yourself might
lend support to advancing the call for them to be recognized for their
determination to place the good of others above and beyond their own
personal needs.