Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital (89 page)

 
44
“Given our current knowledge”
: Perkin and Resnik, ibid.

 
45
the buildings were full […] escorted away drunks
: Building entry logs and security notes as well as author’s April 21, 2008, interview with a DynCorp company official who said the group’s first mission had been “to provide assistance to any survivors that may have been left behind or inadvertently may have been unable to be evacuated” from Tenet’s hospitals. One mystifying incident the DynCorp team was asked about by Tenet concerned media reports of a suspicious body seen by San Diego National Guardsmen and a news crew at Memorial. The incident is partially described in Brinkley, Douglas.
The Great Deluge
:
Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
(New York: Harper Perennial, 2007), p. 606. Brinkley wrote that freelance reporters for NBC followed the sounds of a radio tuned to WWL to a room where they found a woman was dead, covered in blood. NBC kindly provided a screening copy of Anthony Zumbado’s footage to the author, but it shows only one body, on a gurney with no blood, partially covered by a sheet; attorneys for the family of Leon Preston later identified this body to the author as Mr. Preston, the named plaintiff in
Preston, et al v. Tenet
. The author spoke with Anthony Zumbado, the
videographer, but he was unable to provide more details. The Guardsmen apparently alleged the woman had been sexually abused, but did not offer how they ascertained this. The DynCorp company official interviewed by the author said that while his team also saw bodies in the emergency room, they were covered and “we didn’t see anything abnormal about the way they were resting, so to speak.” He pointed out, reasonably, that to ascertain sexual assault would have involved an invasive examination; it is hard to imagine the National Guardsmen conducted one when they walked through the hospital. A possible case of sexual violence came to light at a settlement hearing in the
Preston, et al v. Tenet
class action case. A former patient alleged that a hospital orderly had assaulted her in her room. Her attorney, Anthony Irpino, told the author that the judge granted her request for more funds.

 
46
Pou toured Memorial
: Security guard log notes document where the group was escorted. Sign-in sheets for that day include signatures of most parties. Interestingly, Dr. Pou and Mr. Simmons did not sign the sign-in sheets, but the group is referred to as the “doctor’s” group and several others who were there recalled Pou and Simmons as having been there that day. Simmons went to court to ensure that the pieces of equipment described here be preserved.

 
47
“Tonight, a CNN exclusive”
: “New Orleans Hospital Murders?,” CNN,
Anderson Cooper 360°
, December 21, 2005, ten p.m.;
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/21/acd.01.html
. Other versions aired earlier and later.

 
48
“terrorized”
: Dr. Pou interview with author July 23, 2008.

 
49
James O’Bryant
: The details of Mr. O’Bryant’s medical history and Dr. Pou’s treatment of him described throughout this chapter were provided by his wife, Brenda, and daughter, Tabatha, in interviews in 2007 and 2013 and, with their kind permission, by Dr. Daniel Nuss in interviews in 2007. Also consulted for background on James’s condition: Watkinson, John C. and Ralph W. Gilbert.
Stell and Maran’s Textbook of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology
, 5th ed., (London: Hodder Arnold, 2012).

 
50
respected textbook
: Randall C. Baselt.
Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man
, 6th ed., (Foster City, CA: Biomedical Publications, 2002). More recent editions exist, but the investigators relied on this one.

 
51
They had not gathered
: The investigators believed that another surgical ICU nurse had also gone up to the seventh floor when Pou was there. She did not agree to be interviewed for this book.

 
52
USA Today
quoted
: Johnson, Kevin, “Post-Katrina Inquiry Likely to Need New Expert,”
USA Today
, January 23, 2006. All charges were ultimately dismissed in 2009. For a delightful description of the coroner, see also See Kalson, Sally, “The Wecht Indictment,”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
, July 20, 2009;
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/sally-kalson/the-wecht-indictment-494225/
: “His rulings, feuds and polysyllabic speechifying were always good news copy, and his bombastic letters in response to perceived slights were legendary […] without him in the medical examiner’s office the local scene seems kind of pale.”

 
53
Years later in an interview
: Dr. John Skinner interview with author, May 3, 2013.

 
54
interviewees intimated
: For example, Terence Stahelin interview with investigators November 9, 2005: “I don’t believe that decision was made by any of our doctors.” Also Dr. Pou, in her interview with Julie Scelfo (
Newsweek
, September 2, 2007), said, when asked who
appointed her to inject patients: “It was a group decision. I didn’t really volunteer for anything.”

 
55
whether Tenet corporate officials might have been aware
: Tenet Healthcare Corporation provided the following written response to the author on August 18, 2009: “This allegation is false. No evidence exists to support this claim. It is unfortunate that these unsubstantiated allegations continue to obscure the heroism and dedication of the doctors and staff in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the breach of the levees.”

 
56
paid nearly $400 million to settle claims
: “Tenet Healthcare Agrees to $395 Million Settlement of Lawsuit Filed Over Alleged Unnecessary Heart Surgeries,”
California Healthline
, December 22, 2004;
http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2004/12/22/tenet-healthcare-agrees-to-395-million-settlement-of-lawsuit-filed-over-alleged-unnecessary-heart-surgeries.aspx
.

 
57
“Tenet is a major health-care provider”
: Shields, Gerard, “Shareholders ask Landrieu to Give up Tenet Contributions,”
The Advocate
, March 18, 2006, A23.

 
58
“I don’t know what God’s will is”
: Kahn, Carrie, “New Orleans Hospital Staff Discussed Mercy Killings,” National Public Radio,
All Things Considered
, February 16, 2006.

 
59
The main hospital, however
: LifeCare’s leases at Memorial and at a Tenet-owned hospital in Kenner Louisiana, were not renewed. Some who worked for LifeCare considered this payback for having cooperated with Attorney General Foti’s investigation.

 
60
“verbal lynching”
: Baltz,
The Kat’s Paw
, and interviews with author.

 
61
Tenet announced intentions
: The Associated Press, “Tenet in $900 Million Settlement,”
New York Times
, June 30, 2006;
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/30/business/30tenet.html
.

 
62
The urge to learn
: For example: Fink, Sheri, “Lost in the Wave: A New Scientific Mystery: Why Haven’t Sophisticated DNA Techniques Identified More of the Dead Killed in Last Year’s Tsunami? And What Will It Mean for New Orleans?,”
Discover Magazine
(November 2005);
http://discovermagazine.com/2005/nov/lost-in-the-wave
.

CHAPTER 9

Interviews

Dr. James Aiken; Roderick “Rico” Alvendia; Dr. Michael Baden; Dr. Horace Baltz; Brent Becnel; Don Berry; Elaine Bias; Lee Black; Joseph Bruno; Daniel Callahan; Arthur Caplan; Dr. David J. Casarett; James Cobb Jr.; Dr. Ewing Cook; Minnie Cook; Bette Crigger; Walburg de Jong; Renee C. Fox; Gen. Charles Foti; Faye Garvey; Dr. Juan Jorge Gershanik; Mark P. Glago; Dr. Shimon Glick; Cathy Green; Father Jere Hinson; Dr. Edmund G. Howe, III; Anthony Irpino; Gina Isbell; Dr. James James; Joe Jeffries; Dr. Faith Joubert; Dr. Steven Karch; Dr. Gerrit Kimsma; Kenneth Kipnis; Dr. Kiersta Kurtz-Burke; Karen Lagasse; Lorraine LeBlanc; Jessie Lynn LaSalle; Nina Levy; Kristin McMahon; Dr. Andrew J. McWhorter; Father John Marse; Robert Middleberg; Dr. Steven H. Miles; Nancy Miller; Dr. Frank Minyard; Michael Morales; Dr. Eugene Myers; Craig and Kathryn Nelson; Dr. Daniel Nuss; Brenda and Tabatha O’Bryant; Dr. Donald Palmisano; Amy Phillips; Dr. Anna Pou; Dr. James Riopelle; Garland Robinette; Karen Sanford; Arthur Schafer; Dianna A. Schenk; Rodney Scott; Todd R. Slack; Dr. Dudley M. Stewart Jr.; Dave Tarver; Dr. John Thiele; Dr. Richard Vinroot; Dr. John Walsh; Kris Wartelle; Dr. Cyril Wecht; Eric van Wijlick; Dr. Matthew K. Wynia; Stella Wright; Karen Wynn; Dr. James Young.

Notes

  
1
James O’Bryant, her patient
: The details of Mr. O’Bryant’s medical history and Pou’s treatment of him described throughout this chapter were provided by his wife, Brenda, and daughter, Tabatha, in interviews in 2007 and 2013 and, with their permission, by Dr. Daniel Nuss in interviews in 2007.

  
2
Foti was likely to release
: interview with Dr. Daniel Nuss (July 25, 2007).

  
3
asking for Pou’s address
: Berry, Jason, “Charles Foti and the Memorial Three,”
Gambit Weekly
, October 31, 2006.

  
4
“Are you going to arrest my client?”
: Rick Simmons remark at press conference, July 18, 2006. Video available on CNN ImageSource;
http://footage.net/VideoPreviewPop.aspx?SupplierID=cnn2&key=20240979&type=Global
.

  
5
Attorneys for Lori Budo and
: Berry, Jason, “Charles Foti and the Memorial Three,” and Eddie Castaing comments to author (2013). Butch Schafer’s recollections in interviews aligned with those of the attorneys for the three women.

  
6
stayed part-time at a home she did not own
: Berry, Jason, “Charles Foti and the Memorial Three,” and property records search.

  
7
Bogalusa, a paper mill town
: Chapple, Charlie, “Paying for Their Pain: As Bogalusa Residents Receive Their Share of a $50 Million Settlement Stemming from a 1995 Chemical Leak, Emotions Range from Joy to Disappointment,”
Times-Picayune
, May 29, 2005.

  
8
Murdering with the specific intent to kill
: 2006 Louisiana Laws, title 14, criminal law, RS 14:30, first degree murder;
http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2006/146/78397.html
.

  
9
murders committed in “sudden passion”
: ibid., RS 14:31, manslaughter;
http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2006/146/78399.html
.

 
10
That afternoon
: The details of Dr. Pou’s arrest were documented by the arresting officers.

 
11
with affidavits and warrants of arrest
: An unsigned version of the affidavits and arrest warrants may be viewed on the
Times-Picayune
website:
http://www.nola.com/katrina/pdf/072006_nolacharges.pdf
.

 
12
“I can’t tell you what’s going on”
: Interview with Dr. Andrew McWhorter, the doctor whom Dr. Pou called (July 25, 2007).

 
13
She asked him to check
: Interview with Dr. Anna Pou (July 2008).

 
14
Small things made her grateful
: Dr. Anna Pou, ibid., and interview with Faye Garvey (July 2007).

 
15
She prayed for God to help
: Julie Scelfo’s
Newsweek
(2007) interview with Dr. Pou. Dr. Pou’s shock at the charges and details of the advice and support provided by her family members are also from Scelfo’s interview.

 
16
Our Lady of Prompt Succor
: Interview with Father John Marse (July 27, 2009); website of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor:
http://www.shrineofourladyofpromptsuccor.com/
.

 
17
Virginia Rider wore
: Recording of Attorney General Charles Foti press conference (July 18, 2006), CNN ImageSource ID# 4371920, screened from:
http://www.footage.net/VideoPreviewPop.aspx?SupplierID=cnn2&key=20255362&type=Global
.

 
18
Later in the afternoon
: Rick Simmons press conference (July 18, 2006), CNN ImageSource ID# 4372124, screened from:
http://footage.net/VideoPreviewPop.aspx?SupplierID=cnn2&key=20240979&type=Global
.

 
19
The issue of larger responsibility and blame
: See, for example, an excellent and concise investigative exposé produced by the Center for Public Integrity: Bergal, Jenni, et al.
City Adrift
:
New Orleans Before and After Katrina
(Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2007). See also: US House of Representatives,
A Failure of Initiative
,
www.katrina.house.gov
; US Senate,
Katrina
:
A Nation Still Unprepared
; the White House,
The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina
:
Lessons Learned
, February 2006;
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned
.