Posted on 09/10/2005 10:07:46 PM PDT by Mount Athos
Less than 24 hours before Hurricane Katrina began ravaging St. Bernard Parish with 140 mph winds and a 20-foot storm surge, Coroner Bryan Bertucci made an urgent call to the owner of St. Rita's Nursing Home near Poydras.
"I told her I had two buses and two drivers who could evacuate all 70 of her residents and take them anywhere she wanted to go," he said.
But Mabel Mangano refused the offer. "She told me, 'I have five nurses and a generator, and we're going to stay here,'" Bertucci said.
It turned out to be a tragic decision.
On Wednesday, nine days after the storm had passed, Bertucci watched as a dozen workers from a federal agency that specializes in handling mass casualties began the gruesome task of removing about 30 decomposing bodies from the still-flooded nursing home.
On Thursday, Attorney General Charles Foti Jr. announced he's launching an investigation into the deaths at the nursing home. "I want answers. I want to know why those people were trapped and were not evacuated," Foti said. The storm pounded through the parish's levees, unleashing raging floodwaters that knocked able-bodied men off their feet. At the single-story, privately-owned nursing home, residents confined to their beds or wheelchairs were quickly overwhelmed by the rapidly rising water, Bertucci said.
As the storm raged, neighbors and firefighters in boats rescued about 40 nurses and residents, carrying some -out on their mattresses. But rescuers could not save everyone. The body of an elderly woman wearing a housedress was found on a concrete patio near the front door. An elderly man's body was slumped over the back of a chair, a recovery worker said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Yep. That is where the final decision comes from.
When the consequence is death, and the reason is negligence, it seems that most states should already have criminal statutes to cover that.
Most owners have more than one home and they evacuate to the closest one.
Doesn't anyone understand that this woman who you all want to burn at the stake was doing what she felt was the wisest thing?
Where were the buses when the water started rising?
Fix the problem, not the blame!
Just for you I'm changing my tagline.
As the person directly in charge of others lives she has an obligation to protect them with reasonable care. Under the law a reasonable person could have foreseen the grave possible outcome of not evacuating. In addition she was provided the opportunity to do so and refused it. She was negligent in the extreme.
Bottom line, choices have consequences.
It isn't as if the outcome wasn't foreseeable.
Well, since it was a mandatory evacuation, she seems legally culpable to have moved them. I'm sure we'll find out with the coming lawsuits!
Where were the buses when the water started rising?
Didn't you read the article? She turned them down. That's why they weren't there. I'm buying stock in you.
The offer of buses came before the storm hit; maybe we're reading different articles.
I'm with you, OP. The lady who made the decision to stay is dead too...she has already paid the price herself for her poor judgement.
If they blame FEMA for not charging in then it is the mayor's fault for not doing the same.
This owner merits being investigated and prosecuted. At the same time, the Mayor of New Orleans also merits an invetigation and prosecution for sending so many to the Superdome and Convention Center and abandoning them there, resulting in deaths also.
The Nurising home owner was offered buses and refused. Nagin had buses and didn't use them. I see little difference.
The initial move to evacuate may in all probability cost a patient or two. Failing to move cost many much more. All nursing homes must put the safety and well being of the patients above all else. This was not a multi-story facility and in a Cat-4 hurricane it is very reasonable to assume heavy flooding will occur levy or no. Not to mention loss of roof potential etc. It was very irresponsible.
The lady who made the decision to stay is dead too...
Are you sure? The article says that she is believed to have survived the storm.
Silly Danno, haven't you heard? It's all Bush's fault.
The people in the nursing home were in "assisted living" and had little opportunity to leave on their own.
The citizens of New Orleans, people served by the mayor, may have been reliant on the mayor for help (his civic duty) but they had to get themselves to any sort of shelter (public or private) on their own.
I agree that there is little difference in the end, but they are different scenarios.
A closer analogy would be the parents who stayed at home and kept their kids in the attic with them. The mayor has means at his disposal but we don't live in a nannystate and require the approval of the mayor to do anything for self-preservation.
Jail, along with the governor of Louisiana and mayor of New Orleans.
Somehow there has to be an investigation and those found in neglect of their elected duties should stand trial.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.