The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals set up a medical needs shelter in the University’s Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on Sunday for refugees unable to receive medical attention from general population shelters. University resident assistants helped set up the shelter.
The shelter provides disaster medical assistance teams for refugees in need of treatment for chronic illnesses, disabilities and nursing care.
Natural resource ecology and management sophomore Sam Moore, an RA for the West Campus Apartments, helped to set up cots and provide supplies to the shelter. He said that some of the refugees assisted in the set-up.
“It was just really nice to see that that many people would come out to help out,” Moore said. “People wanted to help.”
Despite a two-and-a-half hour delay because of a flat tire on a supply truck, most of the volunteers that came stayed until the very end to wait on the truck, Moore said. He and the other WCA RAs spent five hours that evening setting up the shelter.
International studies sophomore Jorge Acevedo, another RA for WCA, also assisted in the set up.
“I was getting a bit stir-crazy because I actually lived in one of the areas affected,” Acevedo said. “This actually, to be honest, was more for me than anything because I actually felt like I could finally do something.”
Acevedo said that there was a surplus of supplies. When there was no more space available, the rest was stored in the back.
Nurses are available to screen individuals and provide treatment. If any conditions are too critical, they are referred to a hospital or doctor to receive the appropriate treatment.
The facility is now being operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to an email from Jennie Thomas with the U.S. Public Health Service. The U.S. Army and Air National Guard have been providing facility security and patient transport since the shelter was first opened. The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services is managing the shelter and furnishing essential services such as food and sanitation, patient registration and discharge planning.
The University does not have a general needs shelter, though it has set up resources for students and employees affected by the flood. 
On the University website, there is an application for the Student Relief Fund, which provides financial assistance for those affected by the disaster. According to the website, a committee will evaluate all applications and award funds until the money is exhausted.
The website allows employees to donate annual time off for those who were affected by the flood.
The University’s Food Pantry will operate regular hours starting today, and has been open to students and faculty since Aug. 18. The pantry is located in the LSU Student Union.
LSU President F. King Alexander, who routinely visits the shelter, sent out a broadcast email Friday addressing the beginning of the semester, noting that minimal damage was done to campus, but “that is not the case for thousands across Louisiana.”
The email provided a link to the University’s resources and said there would be a re-entry process for students and faculty unable to immediately attend. In his email, Alexander also hawked the first day back as a return to normalcy.
“It is critically important for our community to continue moving forward even as we help our friends and family recover,” his email read. “Healing requires a sense of normalcy and routine and comfort, and we are here to provide that, and so much more, to all those who call LSU home.”