> reporter: it's a one of the largest and perhaps vital additions to new orleans since hurricane kra trinathe new billion dollars university medical center is being celebrated as full-scale health care finally returning to the city. many hope it will stay true to its mission of caring for all patients including the poor and uninsured. >> i'm thrilled that i'm here. and we have this here. it's a bit shameful that it has taken ten years to happen. >> reporter: for the chief medical officer, opening the doors as the city marks a decade since the storm, makes it tough not to reflect on that frantic week in 2005. he was among the staff and patients trapped in the hospital. >> we moved our patients from the emergency department to a second floor auditorium. >> reporter: it wasn't long before water knocked out basement generators, and the temperatures soared. this doctor was in charge of 50 intensive care patients. >> we ran out of sedatives, so many of the patients that had breathing tubes in were awake and squeezing them with a bag. >> reporter: some infrants and critical patients were air lief