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Memorial Medical Center and Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina
2005 Atlantic hurricane season
General
Impact
Relief
Analysis
External links

Memorial Medical Center[a] was heavily damaged when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, specifically Pearlington, MS on August 29, 2005.[1] In the aftermath of the storm, while the building had no electricity and went through catastrophic flooding after the levees failed, Dr. Anna Pou, along with other doctors and nurses, attempted to continue caring for patients.[2] On Wednesday, August 31, United States Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt reassured the public that 2,500 patients would be evacuated from hospitals in Orleans Parish, although it wasn't clear at first where they would be moved to.[3]

On September 11, 45 bodies were recovered from Memorial Medical Center,[4] about five of whom had died before the disaster (originally thought to be eleven).[5] Out of an estimated 215 bodies found in nursing homes and hospitals in New Orleans,[6][7] Memorial had the largest number.[8]

In July 2006, a Louisiana judge found probable cause to order the arrest of Pou and two nurses for second degree murder in the deaths of several of the patients, following a nearly year-long investigation by the office of Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti.[9][10][11] However, a year later a grand jury in Orleans Parish refused to indict Pou on any of the counts.[12] Eventually, the charges were expunged and the State of Louisiana paid Pou's legal fees.[13][14]

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, Foti's successor, said, "This is a prosecution that should never have been brought" forward.[15] In 2008, Caldwell testified before the Louisiana Supreme Court in support of the position taken by lawyers for Pou and other doctors and nurses from Memorial, who were fighting to keep the state's investigative records in the case sealed from public view.[16] He said, "the case against Dr. Pou is probably over," but that new information could lead to a renewed investigation, so the files should remain secret.[16] The following year, Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro testified in the same case that "human beings were killed as a result of actions by doctors" at Memorial after Hurricane Katrina.[17] However, he explained that he did not plan to prosecute anyone. "Whether or not there was a homicide and whether or not there is a case that can be brought are different matters."[17]


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  1. ^ "Doctor cleared in Katrina deaths recounts scene". Associated Press. July 20, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  2. ^ "Hurricane Katrina: Swath of Destruction". Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The. Associated Press News Service. 31 August 2005. p. A9.
  3. ^ "Nurse: 'It's like being in a Third World country'". NBC News. August 31, 2005. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  4. ^ Struck, Doug (September 13, 2005). "45 Bodies Found in La. Hospital". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  5. ^ Fink, Sheri (September 10, 2013). Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital. New York: Crown Publishers. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-307-71896-9.
  6. ^ "Euthanasia alleged at New Orleans hospital".
  7. ^ Davis, Robert; Johnson, Kevin (17 October 2005). "La. looks into 215 Katrina deaths - Inquiry includes euthanasia report". USA Today. Arlington, VA.
  8. ^ Canfield, Sabrina (March 24, 2011). "Hospital Settles Katrina Deaths Class Action". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  9. ^ Kahn, Carrie (July 19, 2006). "Doctor and Nurses Charged in Post-Katrina Deaths". National Public Radio. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  10. ^ Fink, Sheri (September 10, 2013). Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death at a Storm-Ravaged Hospital. New York: Crown Publishers. pp. 338–339. ISBN 978-0-307-71896-9.
  11. ^ "State of Louisiana vs Anna M. Pou, Affidavit and Arrest Warrant" (PDF). CBS News. July 17, 2006. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  12. ^ Filosa, Gwenn (July 24, 2007). "Grand jury refuses to indict Dr. Anna Pou". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  13. ^ Moller, Jan (March 18, 2009). "Panel Recommends Paying Dr. Anna Pou's Legal Fees". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  14. ^ "HB341 2009, Regular Session, Appropriates funds for payment of legal expenses of Dr. Anna Pou". Louisiana State Legislature. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  15. ^ Foster, Mary (23 March 2009). "Consultants earned $80,000 on failed Katrina case, 1st Ld-Writethru, LA". Times-Picayune, The. New Orleans, LA. Associated Press News Service. p. 02.
  16. ^ a b Maggi, Laura (October 13, 2008). "High court considers making public records of Memorial Medical Center deaths during Katrina". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  17. ^ a b Kovacs, Peter (July 8, 2010). "Orleans DA testifies that he believes patients were killed at Memorial Medical Center after Katrina, but he can't prove it". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved March 5, 2014.

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