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The Anna Pou case was a scandal arising from the deaths of four patients at the Memorial Medical Center, New Orleans three days after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In 2006, Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti arrested Dr Anna Pou and two nurses, publicly stating that "his is a homicide". The case never went to trial. The charges have now been expunged and the state of Louisiana has agreed to pay Dr. Pou's legal fees.

During Katrina

Dr. Pou, an associate professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the LSU Health Sciences Center, was at Memorial Medical Center from before Katrina's landfall on Monday August 29 until Friday September 2. By Wednesday, the hospital was surrounded by floodwaters, without sanitation, running out of food, experiencing indoor temperatures up to 110°, and had no electricity. The staff decided to evacuate the hospital. Patients on upper floors had to be carried down the stairs, and those evacuated by helicopter had to be carried up more stairs to the helipad on a separate building; several patients died while being moved. By Friday, about 2,000 patients, families and staff had been evacuated "under incredibly difficult circumstances".

The seventh floor at Memorial was leased to LifeCare Hospitals of New Orleans. LifeCare provides intensive care for severely ill patients, aiming to improve their health to the point that they no longer need hospital care. Many of LifeCare's patients at Memorial were especially affected by the loss of electric power. None of LifeCare's doctors were present at Memorial during Katrina, so Memorial's doctors were in charge of LifeCare's patients.

Investigation

On September 13, mortuary workers later recovered forty-five bodies from the hospital. In the following weeks, it was reported that staff had discussed euthanizing patients. Some reports went further. Dr Bryant King, an internist at Memorial, told CNN that he believed that "the discussion of euthanasia was more than talk." LifeCare told the state Attorney General's office that nine of their patients might "have been given lethal doses of medicines by a Memorial doctor and nurses."

At the request of the Louisiana AG's office, Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard investigated the deaths. Experts reported abnormal levels of morphine, midazolam (Versed), and/or Lorazepam in several bodies. In many cases, the experts said, the levels indicated homicide. (Another expert, Dr. Steven Karch, later disputed that conclusion.)

On July 17, 2006, Pou and nurses Lori Budo and Cheri Landry were arrested (but not formally charged) in connection with the deaths of four LifeCare patients. State Attorney General Charles Foti announced the arrests the next day, at a widely televised news conference. "This is a homicide; it is not euthanasia," he said. The arrests were controversial. In the words of Times-Picayune reporter James Varney, they "ignited a furious debate in New Orleans and elsewhere about whether sharp ethical boundaries can be drawn around decisions on patient comfort made in a crisis."

Later that year, The Times Picayune reported that the drug mixture that Pou supposedly used was much better suited to pain relief than causing death.

60 Minutes aired a report on the case in September 2006. In an interview, Pou told Morley Safer:

"No, I did not murder those patients. Mr. Safer, I've spent my entire life taking care of patients."

In February 2007, Minyard issued his report on the deaths of the four LifeCare patients. He was not able to determine a cause of death in any of the cases, leaving them classified as "undetermined".

In March 2007, a state Grand Jury was sworn in to consider the Memorial case. Unlike a normal Grand Jury, this one dealt with just one case, and functioned as an investigation instead of a review of evidence.

Outcome

After several months, the Grand Jury concluded its work by declining to indict any of the suspects on any of the charges.

Since then, the charges have since been expunged, the state of Louisiana has agreed to pay Pou's legal fees (over $450,000) and several Louisiana lawmakers have apologized for the accusations against Dr. Pou.

See also

• List of people associated with Hurricane Katrina

References

1. The Memorial Medical Center has since changed ownership, and is now called the Ochsner Baptist Medical Center.
2. ^ Kathleen Johnston (October 13, 2005). "Staff at New Orleans hospital debated euthanizing patients". CNN.
3. ^ Sherry Fink (August 30, 2009). "Strained by Katrina, a Hospital Faced Deadly Choices". ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Unknown parameter |http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30doctors.html?_r= ignored (help)
4. ^ Daniel Schorn; Morley Safer (Aug. 15, 2007). "Katrina Doc Denies Mercy Killings". 60 Minutes. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. ^ James Varney (August 6, 2006). "Doctor's drug mix not ideal killer: Evidence in Memorial case called unreliable". The Times-Picayune.
6. ^ Mary Foster (March 8, 2007). "Grand Jury to investigate hospital deaths". Associated Press.
7. ^ Gwen Filosa (July 16, 2007). "Foti sued by doctor accused in Memorial Hospital deaths". The Times-Picayune.
8. Jeffrey Meitrodt (February 1, 2007). "N.O. coroner finds no evidence of homicide: Memorial doctor still faces grand jury in 4 deaths". The Times-Picayune.
9. . WDSU. July 25, 2007 http://www.wdsu.com/news/13744299/detail.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Text "'Dark Cloud' Lifted From Pou, Attorney Says: Grand Jury Declines To Indict Doctor In Hospital Deaths" ignored (help)
10. "Gov. Jindal Signs Bill To Reimburse Anna Pou". Associated Press. {{cite news}}: Text "July 1, 2009" ignored (help)

External links

• Dr Pou's biography at LSU

• Effects of Hurricane Katrina
• History of New Orleans, Louisiana
• Political scandals in the United States
• Medical ethics