Sheri Fink - Five Days at Memorial

59 The main hospital, however : LifeCare’s leases at Memorial and at a Tenet-owned hospital in Kenner Louisiana, were not renewed. Some who worked for LifeCare considered this payback for having cooperated with Attorney General Foti’s investigation.

60 “verbal lynching” : Baltz, The Kat’s Paw , and interviews with author.

61 Tenet announced intentions : The Associated Press, “Tenet in $900 Million Settlement,” New York Times , June 30, 2006; http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/30/business/30tenet.html.

62 The urge to learn : For example: Fink, Sheri, “Lost in the Wave: A New Scientific Mystery: Why Haven’t Sophisticated DNA Techniques Identified More of the Dead Killed in Last Year’s Tsunami? And What Will It Mean for New Orleans?,” Discover Magazine (November 2005); http://discovermagazine.com/2005/nov/lost-in-the-wave.

Interviews

Dr. James Aiken; Roderick “Rico” Alvendia; Dr. Michael Baden; Dr. Horace Baltz; Brent Becnel; Don Berry; Elaine Bias; Lee Black; Joseph Bruno; Daniel Callahan; Arthur Caplan; Dr. David J. Casarett; James Cobb Jr.; Dr. Ewing Cook; Minnie Cook; Bette Crigger; Walburg de Jong; Renee C. Fox; Gen. Charles Foti; Faye Garvey; Dr. Juan Jorge Gershanik; Mark P. Glago; Dr. Shimon Glick; Cathy Green; Father Jere Hinson; Dr. Edmund G. Howe, III; Anthony Irpino; Gina Isbell; Dr. James James; Joe Jeffries; Dr. Faith Joubert; Dr. Steven Karch; Dr. Gerrit Kimsma; Kenneth Kipnis; Dr. Kiersta Kurtz-Burke; Karen Lagasse; Lorraine LeBlanc; Jessie Lynn LaSalle; Nina Levy; Kristin McMahon; Dr. Andrew J. McWhorter; Father John Marse; Robert Middleberg; Dr. Steven H. Miles; Nancy Miller; Dr. Frank Minyard; Michael Morales; Dr. Eugene Myers; Craig and Kathryn Nelson; Dr. Daniel Nuss; Brenda and Tabatha O’Bryant; Dr. Donald Palmisano; Amy Phillips; Dr. Anna Pou; Dr. James Riopelle; Garland Robinette; Karen Sanford; Arthur Schafer; Dianna A. Schenk; Rodney Scott; Todd R. Slack; Dr. Dudley M. Stewart Jr.; Dave Tarver; Dr. John Thiele; Dr. Richard Vinroot; Dr. John Walsh; Kris Wartelle; Dr. Cyril Wecht; Eric van Wijlick; Dr. Matthew K. Wynia; Stella Wright; Karen Wynn; Dr. James Young.

Notes

1 James O’Bryant, her patient : The details of Mr. O’Bryant’s medical history and Pou’s treatment of him described throughout this chapter were provided by his wife, Brenda, and daughter, Tabatha, in interviews in 2007 and 2013 and, with their permission, by Dr. Daniel Nuss in interviews in 2007.

2 Foti was likely to release : interview with Dr. Daniel Nuss (July 25, 2007).

3 asking for Pou’s address : Berry, Jason, “Charles Foti and the Memorial Three,” Gambit Weekly , October 31, 2006.

4 “Are you going to arrest my client?” : Rick Simmons remark at press conference, July 18, 2006. Video available on CNN ImageSource; http://footage.net/VideoPreviewPop.aspx?SupplierID=cnn2&key=20240979&type=Global.

5 Attorneys for Lori Budo and : Berry, Jason, “Charles Foti and the Memorial Three,” and Eddie Castaing comments to author (2013). Butch Schafer’s recollections in interviews aligned with those of the attorneys for the three women.

6 stayed part-time at a home she did not own : Berry, Jason, “Charles Foti and the Memorial Three,” and property records search.

7 Bogalusa, a paper mill town : Chapple, Charlie, “Paying for Their Pain: As Bogalusa Residents Receive Their Share of a $50 Million Settlement Stemming from a 1995 Chemical Leak, Emotions Range from Joy to Disappointment,” Times-Picayune , May 29, 2005.

8 Murdering with the specific intent to kill : 2006 Louisiana Laws, title 14, criminal law, RS 14:30, first degree murder; http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2006/146/78397.html.

9 murders committed in “sudden passion” : ibid., RS 14:31, manslaughter; http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2006/146/78399.html.

10 That afternoon : The details of Dr. Pou’s arrest were documented by the arresting officers.

11 with affidavits and warrants of arrest : An unsigned version of the affidavits and arrest warrants may be viewed on the Times-Picayune website: http://www.nola.com/katrina/pdf/072006_nolacharges.pdf.

12 “I can’t tell you what’s going on” : Interview with Dr. Andrew McWhorter, the doctor whom Dr. Pou called (July 25, 2007).

13 She asked him to check : Interview with Dr. Anna Pou (July 2008).

14 Small things made her grateful : Dr. Anna Pou, ibid., and interview with Faye Garvey (July 2007).

15 She prayed for God to help : Julie Scelfo’s Newsweek (2007) interview with Dr. Pou. Dr. Pou’s shock at the charges and details of the advice and support provided by her family members are also from Scelfo’s interview.

16 Our Lady of Prompt Succor : Interview with Father John Marse (July 27, 2009); website of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor: http://www.shrineofourladyofpromptsuccor.com/.

17 Virginia Rider wore : Recording of Attorney General Charles Foti press conference (July 18, 2006), CNN ImageSource ID# 4371920, screened from: http://www.footage.net/VideoPreviewPop.aspx?SupplierID=cnn2&key=20255362&type=Global.

18 Later in the afternoon : Rick Simmons press conference (July 18, 2006), CNN ImageSource ID# 4372124, screened from: http://footage.net/VideoPreviewPop.aspx?SupplierID=cnn2&key=20240979&type=Global.

19 The issue of larger responsibility and blame : See, for example, an excellent and concise investigative exposé produced by the Center for Public Integrity: Bergal, Jenni, et al. City Adrift : New Orleans Before and After Katrina (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2007). See also: US House of Representatives, A Failure of Initiative , www.katrina.house.gov; US Senate, Katrina : A Nation Still Unprepared ; the White House, The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina : Lessons Learned , February 2006; http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned.

20 “Most of the worst crimes” : Thevenot, Brian and Gordon Russell. “Rape. Murder. Gun-fights,” Times-Picayune , September 26, 2005; http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/7087.

21 The Times-Picayune had written about it : McQuaid, John and Mark Schleifstein, “Washing Away” series, Times-Picayune , June 23–27, 2002; http://www.nola.com/washingaway.

22 The Hurricane Pam exercises had modeled it : Beriwal, Madhu, “Preparing for a Catastrophe: The Hurricane Pam Exercise,” statement before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, January 24, 2006; www.hsgac.senate.gov/download/012406beriwal.

23 It was shocking to see the scenario play out at home : A detailed review of America’s vulnerabilities can be found in Flynn, Stephen. The Edge of Disaster : Rebuilding a Resilient Nation (New York: Random House, 2007).

24 Life and death in the critical first hours : For a fascinating read on disasters and human behavior, see: Ripley, Amanda. The Unthinkable : Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—And Why (New York: Crown Publishers, 2008).

25 The online discussion threads : Times-Picayune , July 2006; searchable on http://www.nola.com.

26 on the medical blog KevinMD: “Dr. Anna Pou, Hurricane Katrina, and euthanasia,” KevinMD.com, July 26, 2006; http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2006/07/dr-anna-pou-hurricane-katrina-and.html.