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FOTI'S FOLLY: THE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OUTRAGE
Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti announced today that a Memorial (Baptist) Hospital doctor and 2 nurses have been charged with second degree murder for "mercy killing" in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The usually mild mannered Dr. A has been fuming about this all day: the patients involved were terminally ill and were being legally administered doses of morphine that would kill the average person reading this. Why? The worse the pain, the more morphine you need; so, the doses must be increased to properly relieve the pain.
My understanding of the case is that the patients involved were in an hospice program, which means that they were near death before the storm. The hospital's generator failed rather quickly post-K so these patients were in for a very painful and horrible death because of the conditions. Additionally, the doctor who brought these allegations to public attention is a publicity hound whose story has changed 97 times since he appeared on CNN last fall.
No crimes were committed at Memorial Hospital last fall. The doctors and nurses did the best they could in truly horrible conditions. They were stranded at that hospital for nearly a week and inevitably some of the sickest patients died. It's a tragedy but whatever happened at the hospital, no crimes were committed.
These charges are both a miscarriage of justice and a misallocation of public resources. Mr. Foti claimed at one point to be investigating the Corps and the Levee board to see if there was any criminal culpability for the 1,200+ people who died because of their negligence. What happened to that investigation, Mr. Foti?
There's been a lot of discussion of the health care crisis in NOLA post-K. These specious charges will have a chilling effect on the practice of medicine in this area. The health care system here is already hemorrhaging doctors and nurses. And pressing these charges is likely to accelerate the departure of the experienced doctors and nurses we need to care for us. Shame on you, Mr. Foti.
I have performed euthanasia many times for AIDS patients. I expect it to be
done to me when my time has come.
We must have posted simultaneously about this. Stop it before people start
talking.
The persecution of these Medical Proffesionals is the crime
I'm afraid that what should be a mitigating circumstance--that the patients
involved were terminal patients-could make it uglier. If right to life
groups aren't involved yet, they probably will be soon. I also wonder if
that's one more political motivation for Foti.
Gawd, I feel sooo much safer tonight, with Charley Foti getting these three
thugs off the streets.
The power goes down and the patients were in hospice care, what else could
the MD's/RN's do, but provide mercy! Damn!
Great post, Adrastos. I'm afraid this is one of those stories that's just
beginning and is going to get bigger, while the criminal negligence that
resulted in the levee failure and subsequent flood remains unheard.
I'm mad as hell about this. If he's going to cherge them he better get the
CEO of Tenet, Kathleen Blanco and Jeff Smith.....
Dear Adrastos & Co.,
right on. my wife was Memorial nurse of 5 years up until storm. She
actually tended to one of the patients mentioned....the 380 lb. guy. She
is also knows the nurses and Dr. Pou, who she says is an amazing Dr. and
her co-workers who were in the hospital during the storm said Dr. Pou was
instrumental in saving lifes and keeping the situation together. I think
if anyone should be charged, it should be Tenet brass for negligent
homicide for leaving the Drs. and nurses in the position they were in.
Those patents were in Lifecare and they were all dying....i don't know
exactly what happened in that place during the storm, but it sure seems
like a waste of time and energy on Foti's part to go after these folks who
were doing their best to do their jobs.
