nuring homesdeaths in new orleans area

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I heard on the news in the first few days after the storm that the staff evacuated nursing homes & most, if not all, of the residents passed away. Haven't heard anything else about it. Was just wondering if anyone else heard this or has heard anything further about it. I just can't believe that the WHOLE staff evacuated & left all the residents to fend for themselves.

Yes, I to heard about this on CNN. really sad. I also heard the person that was over the nursing home at the time also died ,she stayed behind.

I also want to say "HELLO" to everyone I am a new comer. I just finished the LVN program waiting for my papers to test.

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
Yes, I to heard about this on CNN. really sad. I also heard the person that was over the nursing home at the time also died ,she stayed behind.

I also want to say "HELLO" to everyone I am a new comer. I just finished the LVN program waiting for my papers to test.

WELCOME ! Glad to have you on board ! :)

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I obviously don't know what happened, but I would find it very hard to believe that every single staff member would abandon. Sure some probably would bail out quickly, but I've been in LTC to long and KNOW that most would stick it out until the end - but in this case.. could the staff have literally SWAM to safety. Imagine water up to your waist or even neck and still rising - what would you really, REALLY do? By staying and "sticking it out" who would you even imagine you are really going to save. Like I said, I have no idea what really happened, but this was an EXTREME disaster. Would the situation have made anyone feel better to have found 5-10 dead staff as well (which maybe they still will - who knows yet). Sorry - not trying to make anyone defensive here - just wanted to see how the other shoe fit.

I agree with you. There is so much tragedy in the Gulf region. Lets not point

fingers. Think about it. What could staff members have done to aide their

residents? Perhaps if they had a large enough boat and enough staff to

transfer residents into the boat. But how realistic is that. How could a staff

member, who by the way may not even know how to swim, save residents

in rapid rising waters. I can swim but I doubt I could even attempt to

save more than one other person while swimming and I don't know how I

could perform under such circumstances. I work in LTC. I love my

residents dearly. They are an extension of my family. But how would it

serve them if I died also, because I couldn't leave them. I really don't know

what these staff members could have done, under the circumstances. So

many people only survived by getting to their attics. How could that be possible with the elderly? Perhaps possible for some, but not many.

We have an attic where I work. I don't have immediate access to a ladder and besides the attic is padlocked. And even if the staff could get to the roof with some residents, how many could have survived in the heat without water for so many days? Who knows what the whole story is, but I choose

to believe this was not abandonment. And besides we are told how many

were found dead.....but how many possibly got out alive with staff or family?

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Specializes in Endocrinology.

I think the family of these residents should bear some responsibility for not evacuating those who were able.

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It will be interesting to hear what the "owners" of the facility have to say about it. I have heard that CNN has tried to contact them but they won't answer any questions.

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
It will be interesting to hear what the "owners" of the facility have to say about it. I have heard that CNN has tried to contact them but they won't answer any questions.

No surprise here...and they will be waiting on an answer until hell freezes over. My family and I never got any answers either, after the "owners" of the nursing home where my late father spent the last three weeks of his life basically being neglected to death, too, made off like bandits and incurred NO accountability. And guess WHAT profound conclusion our state's DHR came to? "He was going to die, anyway".

These places are nothing more than concentration camps for the elderly and sick and need to be shut down. :angryfire

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To the poster who commented on the families sharing responsibility in all of this, I'd be willing to bet that the residents who did get left behind probably didn't have any family left that was young and well enough to come and get them and those who did have families that were able physically as well as financially able are the ones who did get to leave.

The facility should have taken charge and evacuated everyone and not left it up to the families alone.

We all watched that storm blow in, we all knew how bad it was, so why there were any hospitals or facilities in the area not evacuated in the first place is crazy but then again, evacuations can be so expensive to a hospital.

And the people who make the decisions about whether or not to evacuate aren't going to actually be there themselves so personal danger doesn't factor in when making that decision, money does.

I try not to judge any staff in that situation because the real issue is that the staff shouldn't have been left in that position to fend for themselves and the patients in the first place. They all should have been evacuated.

And now we want to crucify them for not going down with the ship. I guess they were supposed to die along with the patients/residents and leave their own loved ones behind to suffer even more.

I'm honest enough with myself to acknowledge that nursing is my chosen career and I have a duty to protect my patients.

But I fail to see where that means that I should put myself directly in harms way and die for them because a hospital refused to evacuate in the first place.

My hospital and home are both within a short walk to the gulf, a mere couple of blocks.

I cannot honestly say that I would be sticking around if a serious cat. 4 or 5 were headed right toward us and the hospital refused to evacuate and tried to make us all stay. That's suicide, not nobility or some sense of duty as a nurse.

It's not like the midwest where a tornado pops up out of nowhere.

We all saw it coming, shoved people into the Superdome, and kept hospitals open that were right in the path and said "Good luck."

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.
No surprise here...and they will be waiting on an answer until hell freezes over. My family and I never got any answers either, after the "owners" of the nursing home where my late father spent the last three weeks of his life basically being neglected to death, too, made off like bandits and incurred NO accountability. And guess WHAT profound conclusion our state's DHR came to? "He was going to die, anyway".

These places are nothing more than concentration camps for the elderly and sick and need to be shut down. :angryfire

Wow - that last statement is a pretty powerful and kind of unfair too. Many of us give our heart and soul everyday in these "concentration camps". With all due respect - if you knew your father was being neglected for 3 weeks what accountability does your family or any family member need to take. I will be the first to admit, there are bad LTC facilities out there and that is why families need to stay involved and be proactive for their loved ones. Even to the point of moving them out or caring for them at home if needed w/ private caregivers. BUT, there are really good LTC facilities and really GOOD nurses that work at them too and would do us all good to treat each other with some respect.

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.

Anyone remember the name of this nursing home? I want to look it up on http://www.medicare.gov "nursing home compare".

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
Wow - that last statement is a pretty powerful and kind of unfair too. Many of us give our heart and soul everyday in these "concentration camps". With all due respect - if you knew your father was being neglected for 3 weeks what accountability does your family or any family member need to take. I will be the first to admit, there are bad LTC facilities out there and that is why families need to stay involved and be proactive for their loved ones. Even to the point of moving them out or caring for them at home if needed w/ private caregivers. BUT, there are really good LTC facilities and really GOOD nurses that work at them too and would do us all good to treat each other with some respect.

You are entitled to your opinion, and that's fine. My family and I were proactive with our father's care to the day he died...including moving him out of that facility and into my sister's home, where home care had been ordered. But the damage had already been done and before the nurse could make her first visit, he went into cardiopulmonary arrest and died. I cannot discuss specifics due to a privacy agreement that my family and I signed with this facility's attorneys when we settled out of court. But I can tell you that the Administrator and his D.O.N. were constantly made aware of problems with my father's care throughout the duration of his stay...and they did nothing.

I did not mean any disrespect and I am sorry if any feelings have been hurt here. That was not my intention, and you are right; there ARE some good facilities out there. But until you have suffered the loss of a loved one at the hands of one of those like my family has...and the one where all these people were left to die in New Orleans, walk a mile in OUR shoes.

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
But if they left, and did not notify anyone?????

These people were never found until today, or yesterday, and no one knew anything about them still being there. That is what I am having issues dealing with.................

Me, too. Aaron Broussard, the President of Jefferson Parish knew they were still in there on 9/4, when he flew into a tearful rage on "Meet the Press", relating the desperate phone calls from one of the residents to her son, who was head of the Emergency Management Building there, begging for him to come and get her. It was a collective cry of anger and frustration heard around the world, mirroring not only his own helplessness....but also the helplessness of Mankind as this terrible tragedy unfolded.

http://www.zippyvideos.com/5608100891049646/broussardonmtp/

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9156612/
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