On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in southeast Louisiana, breaching levees and spurring floods that devastated New Orleans. Katrina caused nearly 1,400 deaths and an estimated $200 billion in damage.

Twenty years later, two shuttered hospitals remain eye sores to the city; Charity Hospital and Lindy Boggs Medical Center.

Both remembered by caring for the poor and now both are surrounded by fencing with boarded up windows and graffiti covering parts of each.

But what happened inside the buildings during Hurricane Katrina was pure heroism when doctors and staff fought to save critically ill patients amidst flooding and chaos.

Dr. Kiersta Kurtz-Burke was a staff physician in the rehabilitation department, rode out the storm at the hospital then was stuck there after the bottom of the hospital took on water.

She died in 2024 after years of caring for others at Charity Hospital and was known for her empathy towards patients.

Dr. Peter DeBlieux was the head of emergency services at Charity Hospital and says the healthcare system in New Orleans will never be the same, "It took us 10 years to reestablish healthcare in a meaningful way for this community."

Across town, Lindy Boggs Medical Center went through similar difficulties with a lack of water, resources and personnel during the Hurricane.

The first floor of the hospital was flooded and doctors like Glenn Johnson remembers doing anything they could to help their patients.

"When I look back on my career, this might have been the highlight of me actually making a difference and that's the part when I go to bed on August 29th that's the part i'm going to remember", he said.