Dr. Parker Helps Hurricane Relief

Local Dentist, Dr. David E. Parker, helps recovery efforts in Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

November 22, 2005, Smithtown, New York - Dr. David E. Parker, just returned from a 2-week deployment in St. Gabriel, Louisiana. As a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) Dr. Parker, along with other volunteers and staff from all over the country helped with the tedious task of identifying the many victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. During that time, all volunteers worked in a makeshift morgue at the St Gabriel Base Camp. They were housed at the same location, sleeping on cots and having their meals in tent dining halls.

Dr. Parker, and other dental experts, armed with computers, in one of the many mortuary trailers, spent tireless hours matching dental x-ray images of the dead with images from past dental records. This was not an easy task since many of the dental records where destroyed in the storms.

To date of the 842 bodies, 294 of them are "complete unknowns", and 82 of them have some clues to their identity. Only 132 individuals have been released to their families and another 128 are awaiting release to family members once they can be located. As of now, bodies are still being removed from the city and identifications are still on going.

Along with the rest of the country, the devastation in the south and especially South Louisiana has been of great concern to Dr. Parker and the team at Parker Dental Associates. Dr. Parker and Parker Dental Associates have a personal interest because Dr. Parker's oldest daughter Nicole (who is our off site Director of Marketing) lives in the region. Fortunately, Nicole suffered no losses. Naturally, Dr. Parker was anxious, even though it meant leaving his family here and his dental practice, to go down and help in any way he could.

As a member of DMORT, Dr. Parker was also a first responder at both the World Trade Center Attacks and TWA Flight 800.

Dr. Parker is pictured here with 2 other volunteers in St. Gabriel, Louisiana with “Wilma” a puppy that was rescued from New Orleans and later adopted.