Emmett Everett, was a patient at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans during the catastrophic events of Hurricane Katrina, who became a central figure in a major scandal that unfolded there. His death, and that of many other patients, was surrounded by allegations of euthanasia, and raised profound questions about the ethical obligations of healthcare professionals, especially in times of crisis. Central to the controversy was the alleged misuse of the powerful sedatives morphine and midazolam in their care.

The story revolved around events on the seventh floor of the center, which was leased to a company called LifeCare, a provider of longterm acute care.

There is no doubt that the situation at Memorial Medical Center was chaotic and demanding in the aftermath of Katrina, with the site being marooned amid the floodwaters and power eventually failing. However, in the cruelest of acts, all those who were said to have been euthanized met their fate when evacuation efforts had begun, and salvation was in reach.

One of the true heroes of this tragedy was Mark LeBlanc who led a fleet of airboats to save patients from Memorial, including his mother Vera. However, when the LeBlancs tried to enter the patient area on the second floor, they found their way blocked by medical staff who informed them that they could not rescue Vera or any of the other patients. The hell we can’t! LeBlanc’s spirited wife Sandra retorted. The couple ignored the doctors, and successfully transported Vera to safety. The LeBlancs swore to return the next day to rescue more of the patients they had seen, and true to their word they did so. However, they were immediately informed by medical staff that they had all died.

When the flood waters finally began to recede the rotting bodies of forty-five patients were uncovered in the chapel of the hospital. A legal representative for LifeCare promptly notified Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti Jr. of nine possible cases of euthanasia having occured at the facility. Suspicion quickly fell on three of the medical staff who were involved in the care of those patients on the seventh floor. The most senior was Dr. Anna Pou.

James Young was one of several forensic experts who were brought in to assist the criminal investigation. His conclusion could not have been more damning and read, All these patients survived the adverse events of the previous days, and for every patient on a floor to have died in one three-and-a-half-hour period with drug toxicity is beyond coincidence.

Faced with such overwhelming evidence, on July 17, 2006 , Pou was arrested and charged with four counts of second-degree murder. The other two suspects were also arrested and charged with lesser crimes. The following day, Foti delivered these words at an official press conference. This is not euthanasia. This is plain and simple homicide.

A brave whistleblower also surfaced to substantiate the claims of euthanasia. In an interview with CNN, internist Bryant King said that when he understood a doctor was about to kill patients, he chose to leave the hospital.

I’d rather be considered a person who abandoned patients than someone who aided in eliminating patients.
Bryant King – Internist at Memorial Medical Center

However, in 2007 the legal proceedings finally reached their conclusion when a grand jury failed to indict Pou on any of the counts. Charges against the other two suspects had already been dropped in exchange for them providing testimony.

It was an entirely different story though as regard civil litgation. LifeCare swiftly chose to pay undisclosed sums to family members of several deceased patients who sued. Also, three lawsuits filed by the families of patients, including that of Everett, against Pou and other parties involved were settled, though at a price of silence over the terms.

Pou has subsequently filed a brief with the Louisiana Supreme Court opposing the release of a 50,000-page file assembled by investigators on deaths at Memorial Medical Center.

A book and TV mini-series entitled Five Days at Memorial subsequently appeared.

One of the experts, an internist, wrote that Everett was “in stable medical status with no clear evidence that death was imminent or impending”

On the morning of, Emmett Everett had finished breakfast and was eagerly awaiting his turn as the evacuation effort gathered momentum. An internist on the seventh floor later stated that Mr. Everett had presented a stable medical status with no clear evidence that death was imminent or impending.

However, when Everett’s turn came, it was not to be rescued, but to die.

“Who gave them the right to play God?” Carrie Everett – Emmett’s widow.

It was not only vulnerable and trusting patients who died on the seventh floor of the Memorial Medical Center, buy many myths regarding the practices and ethics of the medical profession in modern society.