The Doctor Is In

As many have heard, the grand jury in New Orleans declined to bring charges against the physician, Anna Pou, and two nurses, arrested and charged with euthanizing patients at Memorial Hospital in the days following Katrina.
In New Orleans and elsewhere, many — including numerous physicians and the AMA — sighed in relief, hoping to put […]

My previous post, an update on the investigation into deaths at Memorial Hospital during hurricane Katrina, elicited this comment from a reader, Carla:
It was not the district attorney who had these people arrested. It was attorney general of the State, Charles Foti, who had them arrested despite that they were not charged. He made a […]

Lost in the dustbin of inconvenient memories, left behind in the light-speed pace of internet information mania is the story of the deaths of patients at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. A physician and two nurses were arrested after the Louisiana District Attorney charged them with murder, accusing them […]

For those who may have read my earlier posts (here, here, and here) about the possibility of euthanasia at a hospital in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricae Katrina, you may be interested in the following report on the conclusion of an investigation by the Louisiana Attorney General, just reported by CNN:
NEW ORLEANS, […]

In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, there were some scattered reports–in an admittedly questionable media source (a British tabloid)–of euthanasia of patients trapped in a New Orleans hospital. I discussed the initial media report here, and did a follow up post here which expanded on the questionable nature of the sources and some of the […]

My last post, riffing off a report that physicians may have euthanized some patients in a New Orleans hospital during Katrina caught a fair amount of heat for promoting a news story which was, in the eyes of some, an urban legend. One of my more–umm, hyperbolic admirers– has some choice words about my decision […]

There have been growing numbers of stories about the heroism of rescuers and medical personnel, such as this one, who risked their lives and personal safety and comfort to rescue, comfort and evacuate often critically-ill patients in New Orleans. But not all the medical care was directed at saving and healing the sick, as this […]

The war rages on. It is a battle with ancient roots, deeply embedded in religion, culture, and the tensions between rich and poor. It is a war of contrasts: high technology and primitive cultural weapons; knowledge versus ignorance; speed and urgency against the methodical slowness of an enemy who knows time is on his side.
It […]