In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and its accompanying flooding, thousands of people were evacuated from Memorial Medical Center and LifeCare hospitals, which are housed in the same structure in New Orleans. That’s the subject of Apple TV+’s “Five Days at Memorial” medical drama. When flooding isolates the hospital building, Memorial Incident Commander Susan Mulderick enlists the help of Tenet Healthcare Corporation to evacuate patients, their families, medical professionals and other staff. hospital.
Tenet employee Michael Arvin tries to be helpful. Viewers might be curious if Arvin’s efforts to help those stranded in the Memorial Hospital building compare in real life. We know the answer, though!
Michael Arvin
Is Michael Arvin based on a real principled employee?
Yes, the Michael Arvin character is based on a real Tenet worker. At the time of Hurricane Katrina, Arvin was employed by Tenet as Director of Strategy and Business Development for the Texas-Gulf Coast region. Sandra Cordray, Memorial’s community relations manager, contacted Tenet asking for help with an evacuation, and Arvin immediately began responding. He had to find a method to help Memorial while having no experience in emergency management. According to the show’s self-titled sourcebook by Sheri Fink, he asked Sandra to contact the National Guard, but soon realized he had to take further action.
Arvin made contact with a number of medical facilities that could take patients from Memorial if they were evacuated. The Atlanta Medical Center even suggested using aero-medical helicopters to transport patients away from Memorial, but Arvin replied that, according to Fink’s book, the “National Guard coordinates all relief efforts.” Although hospitals are providing evacuation assistance, Tenet executives continued to rely on government resources, so Sandra contacted Arvin again to let him know that the hospital could accommodate helicopters. The then-governor ordered pilots to transport patients to all receiving hospitals, even though Arvin had identified facilities to receive patients who had been evacuated from Memorial.
Arvin also called Louisiana’s 911 system to stress the urgency of evacuating Memorial Hospital. He informed Sandra that a helicopter crew will be reinforced, according to a statement made by an official. Given that his communication was recorded as a request for assistance rather than a commitment to send helicopters, Arvin could have misinterpreted the same. Arvin also made contact with a private airline logistics company, which scheduled helicopters to arrive in New Orleans in an effort to evacuate people.
Where is Michael Arvin now?
Michael Arvin is currently employed at New Era Partners, LLC, a healthcare real estate development and investment firm with offices in Grapevine, Texas, where he serves as Executive Vice President of Strategy and development. Her current homeport is Dallas, Texas. After seven years with Tenet, Arvin’s employment with the organization ended in 2007. After that, he spent four years as Senior Vice President of Business and Chief Development Officer at Methodist Health System, based in Dallas. He founded Dallas-based healthcare advisory firm Alliance Strategic Health Advisors, LLC in 2011. He is also a managing partner of the firm.
Hospitals, medical associations, private investors and many others can benefit from the consulting services provided by d’Arvin’s company. He spent over a year as Director of Strategy and Development at The Sanders Trust before joining New Era Partners. We respect Arvin’s decision to keep his private affairs completely private.
