Sumith Prasad
Apple TV+’s medical drama ‘Five Days at Memorial’ centers around the evacuation of thousands from Memorial Medical Center and LifeCare Hospitals, which operate in the same New Orleans building, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flood. When the flood isolates the hospital building, the incident commander of Memorial Susan Mulderick seeks the help of Tenet Healthcare Corporation, the company which owns the hospital, to evacuate patients, their family members, doctors and nurses, and other hospital staff.
Michael Arvin, who works at Tenet, tries his best to offer help. Since Arvin’s efforts to help the people stuck at the Memorial hospital building are noteworthy, the viewers may want to know whether the character has a real-life counterpart. Well, we have the answer!
Is Michael Arvin Based on a Real Tenet Employee?
Yes, Michael Arvin is based on a real Tenet employee. Arvin worked at Tenet as the company’s Texas–Gulf Coast regional director of strategy and business development at the time of Hurricane Katrina. When Sandra Cordray, a community relations manager at Memorial, contacted Tenet seeking help for evacuation, Arvin started to respond to her. With no background in emergency management, he had to find a way to help Memorial. He asked Sandra to coordinate with National Guard, as per Sheri Fink’s eponymous source text of the show, but he soon realized that he has to do more.
Arvin contacted several hospitals that had space to accommodate patients from Memorial if they were evacuated. Atlanta Medical Center even offered aeromedical helicopters to evacuate patients from Memorial but Arvin responded to them that the “National Guard was coordinating all relief efforts,” as per Fink’s book. Sandra contacted Arvin again to let him know that the hospital can receive helicopters, only for Tenet officials to continue to rely on governmental resources despite hospitals offering evacuation support. Even though Arvin had found receiving hospitals for patients evacuated from Memorial, the governor at the time instructed pilots to take patients to any receiving hospitals.
Arvin also contacted Louisiana’s 911 system to stress that the evacuation of the Memorial hospital needed to be expedited. He told Sandra that an official said that there will be a reinforced crew of helicopters. Arvin might have misinterpreted the same since his conversation was logged in as a request for help and not as a promise to send helicopters. In addition, Arvin also contacted a private air logistics company, which lined up helicopters to arrive in New Orleans to evacuate people.
Where is Michael Arvin Now?
Michael Arvin is currently working as the executive vice president of the strategy and development department of New Era Partners, LLC, a healthcare real estate development and investment firm based in Grapevine, Texas. He is currently based in Dallas, Texas, as well. Arvin’s Tenet tenure came to an end in 2007, after seven years at the company. He then worked in Methodist Health System, based in Dallas, for four years as SVP and chief development officer of the company. In 2011, he founded Alliance Strategic Health Advisors, LLC, a healthcare advisory firm based in Dallas. He is also a managing partner of the firm.
Arvin’s firm offers advisory services to hospitals, physician organizations, private equity investors, and many more. He joined New Era Partners after working more than a year at The Sanders Trust as the director of the company’s strategy and development department. Arvin has also chosen to keep his personal life strictly private, and we respect that.
Read More: Where is Ex-Memorial Doctor Anna Pou Now?
