unmarked floor inside the hospital, completed since katrina with federal grant money, the room houses a four layer backup communications system including satellite phones, land lines, and cell phones weren t reliable during the storm. what we wanted to do, if we had cell phones with out of state area codes, 205 or one from arkansas or tennessee, we could get past the logjam. reporter: they built a well 750 feet deep and this is the holding tank for it and during katrina, the original 250 foot wells provided enough water to keep the hospital operational throughout the storm. the hospital has since developed what executives call the oxner navy, comprised of a fleet of nine boats and two army transport vehicles. also, since the storm they ve purchased four other hospitals in the area and have taken on the role of disaster regional coordinator, orchestrating 16 hospitals and three parishes,