Many see accused New Orleans MD as hero

[Herman Munster]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060723/ap_on_re_us/katrina_hospital_deaths

NEW ORLEANS - To Louisiana's attorney general, the doctor and two nurses arrested this past week are murderers. But many in the medical community are outraged at the arrests, saying the three caregivers are heroes who faced unimaginable horrors as Hurricane Katrina flooded the city and trapped them and their patients.

Dr. Anna Pou and nurses Cheri Landry and Lori Budo were accused of being principals to second-degree murder in the deaths of four patients at Memorial Medical Center three days after Katrina hit. The charge carries a mandatory life sentence, though the state will turn the case over to the New Orleans prosecutor, who will decide whether to ask a grand jury to bring charges.

Pou, Landry and Budo are accused of killing four patients, ages 61 to 90, with morphine and a powerful sedative called Versed.Dr. Ben deBoisblanc, director of critical care at Charity Hospital, said he and others are angry at the accusations against a doctor and nurses who risked their own safety, and provided care in a chaotic and frightening situation.

"This doctor and these nurses were heroes. They stayed behind of their own volition to care for desperately ill people. They had an opportunity to leave and chose not to," he said.

[NVMojo]

1. I didn't walk in their shoes, I can't even begin to imagine what they

went through or had to deal with to come to this decision. Now, can we arrest Bush, Cheney, Rumfeck, Rice and others for murder??? hmmmmmm.

[movonne]

2. I'm one of the many...

[catmother]

3. they are heroes. if i were a patient there under those circumstances

i would hope that they would do the same for me.

[blonndee]

4. I agree. I'm appalled that they're being prosecuted. nt

[bleever]

5. These caregivers could have skated away, like Bush and FEMA.

God, the horror they were faced with.

Welcome to DU, Hermie. Thanks for the post.

[Withywindle]

6. Those people got a much kinder death

than all those who died of dehydration and starvation and untreated chronic conditions all alone in their houses or on the rooftops or streets because of the homicidal incompetence of the government.

Prosecute Chertoff first!

[ninkasi]

7. These people are heroes

Let the Bush gang tell us how quickly they got help to the people of NOLA. No, people suffered, they died, and in many cases their shocked families saw them as they died, but couldn't help. Even if he had not committed so many other atrocities, Bush deserves the title of worst president ever, for abandoning New Orleans and the rest of the cities affected. Exactly how many deaths have to occur before his blood lust is sated?

[ClayZ]

8. These people are HEROS.

[enigmatic]

9. They are Heroes

No doubt about it; bringing them up on charges is a travesty..

[madrchsod]

10. if one of my loved ones were there

and facing a horrible death like those people did i would not accuse the doctor of murder but thank her for sparing my loved one of any more agony...another fucking tragedy brought by our government.

i watched my mother die of a massive stroke and it took her body several days to die...god only knows if these people were alive or just shells of flesh waiting for their organs to dry out and finally the heart to stop. i wished that my mother did not have to die this way but there was nothing that i could do yet i was comforted by the fact that she was on morphine drip so she felt no pain while her body died...i`m sure there was not enough time nor drugs to end these people`s lives like my mother`s death

[blues90]

11. The people who brought these charges

Should be set up in the same situation and then they can judge how to react other wise they have no place to place blame . What do they expect these people should have done , what , nothing like bush did , just walk away ?

[pitohui]

15. the people who brought these charges are out for cash

foti is running for re-election and needs cash for the re-election coffers

i would like to see how much he's getting for his campaign to shift the blame from the nursing home and the doctors assigned to these patients, to doctor pou and these two nurses, who were forced to care for these additional patients who were left dying and abandoned

the doctor king who started these rumors wasn't there to hear what he claims to have heard, he hopped on a boat and got the hell out of town!

it truly leaves a bad taste in the mouth if you ask me

notice the attorney general has NOT charged these ladies, as of tonight, they are NOT charged with any crime

[Triana]

12. These charges are such a crock...

...if there's a legal defense fund for these heroes, I'll certainly send money to help defend them - though people shouldn't have to defend themselves for acts of genuine kindness and compassion under such dire circumstances - for being HEROES. It's just rediculous that anyone would bring charges against them. They didn't do anything wrong.

[SensibleAmerican]

13. Well, just because you're a hero doesn't give you license to murder

n/t

[pitohui]

14. there was no murder

the doctor who started the gossip and the rumors, this dr. king, was supposed to be the one taking care of these patients -- who were NOT memorial patients, they were actually nursing home patients in the same building

this doctor abandoned them and then started spreading these stories

now it's a little odd because he wasn't even there, he abandoned his patients! so how could he possibly know what was going on back at memorial?

i believe and i'm fairly sure most people in new orleans believe this doctor and the nursing home invented these rumors to cover their ass against being sued for abandonment of the patients

it is perfectly customary to alleive the pain of dying patients with morphine/versaid or would you prefer that YOUR dying grandparent be left screaming in agony in 110 degree heat while he died because there was no life support

there is no excuse for mr. foti, none at all, notice there have been NO charges filed against the doctor and the two nurses by the district attorney, just an arrest made by mr. foti BUT no charges such that the puzzled police simply released the ladies on their own recognizance

the new orleans newspaper published letters they got about this on their webpage the other day -- the letters were dozens to one in support of these ladies

everybody in town except the money-seekers know that this about protecting the nursing home and dr. king from a lawsuit

[blonndee]

16. Thanks for the info, but even if they DID do it,

I support them.

[etherealtruth]

20. Thanks for this info ...

Nothing about this story sounded "right"

I am grateful for doctors and nurses like Dr. Pou and Ms. Landry and Ms. Budo

upon edit: corrected names

[w8liftinglady]

17. OK..I'm a nurse,and a damn good one

I can imagine struggling to breathe because I had no Oxygen....dying of dehydration because all IV fluids are gone....not knowing if I would be able to be evacuated to another place,where the pain of growing old intensified with every mile my stretcher bounced..movong to another facility where I would lay in my own stool until my butt was on fire.How dare these people...these families sue these people who were trying to find the most painless and dignified way for these poor folks to maintain some dignity.I feel for these nurses and doctor who at least tried to maintain a level of comfort,instead of allowing these folks to suffer in a limbo that never would have been resolved.

[theHandpuppet]

21. Thank you, w8liftinglady

Should I ever find myself or my loved ones in a similar situation I hope they may be fortunate to know doctors and nurses such as yourself and those in NOLA.

[enough]

18. These charges are appalling.

Kick for the medical heroes everywhere.

[LostinVA]

19. I think these charges are backfiring big time on Foti

Ass.