Three medics, one doctor and two nurses, have been arrested in New Orleans on charges of second-degree murder. They were working at the Memorial Medical Center on 29 August last year when the hospital was cut off during the Katrina disaster – 45 patients were found dead in the hospital after the evacuations. People, including many patients, were stranded at the hospital for four days before teams came and moved them.
The three were released on $100,000 bond.
Louisiana’s attorney general, Charles Foti, said more details regarding the arrests will be revealed on Tuesday during a news conference.
It is suspected that either one, or all of the three medics, may have tried to hasten some patients’ deaths during the chaos by giving them pain medication. Some say that the pain medication was administered, not to kill the patients, but to speed up the evacuation of the hospital.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation owns the Memorial Medical Center. A Tenet spokesman said that the company finds euthanasia repugnant and against all its beliefs. The company said it is selling the Memorial Medical Center.
Nearly one thousand people died in Louisiana as a result of Katrina, over 200 died in Mississippi.
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today