The New York Times on Monday examined how, as the return of New Orleans residents to the city after Hurricane Katrina has "picked up speed" in recent weeks, "there are far more sick people than there are doctors, nurses, beds and equipment to take care of them." Hundreds of doctors and nurses have not returned to New Orleans, and only one full-service hospital, Touro Infirmary, has reopened within the city. Five New Orleans hospitals that were severely damaged by floodwaters -- such as the Medical Center of Louisiana, a combination of Charity Hospital and University Hospital that served as the only Level 1 trauma center in the region -- have not reopened. Although some New Orleans hospitals have opened neighborhood clinics or parking-lot tents, the hospitals might never reopen or might take as long as one year to find the funds to repair damages. The number of acute-care hospital beds in New Orleans has decreased from 5,063 before the hurricane, with an average of 4,083 filled daily, to about 1,750, according to Cynthia Matherne, regional coordinator for emergency management in New Orleans and surrounding parishes. As a result of the loss of hospital capacity within New Orleans, a number of city residents have had to seek care at suburban hospitals, which have exceeded capacity. Waiting times at New Orleans-area emergency departments are as long as six hours, according to personnel from three area hospitals. In addition, long-term and psychiatric hospitals, hospices and rehabilitation centers "are now almost non-existent in and around the city," the Times reports (Barringer, New York Times, 1/23).