As chair of the Department of Medicine at the time, Dr. Hamm helped make sure all 120 Tulane patients and another 60 critically ill evacuees from the Superdome were airlifted by the National Guard from the hospital’s parking garage rooftop. But that wasn’t enough. He borrowed a canoe to check on Tulane faculty and residents in neighboring hospitals.

Not a single Tulane patient died—an amazing track record at a hospital even on a normal day. Five harrowing days following Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. After ensuring that all Tulane medical personnel and their families were evacuated, Hamm was one of the last doctors to leave Tulane hospital and one of the first to start the process of rebuilding.