Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital
Read Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital Online
Authors: Sheri Fink
Tags: #Social Science, #Disease & Health Issues, #True Crime, #Murder, #General, #Disasters & Disaster Relief
ALSO BY SHERI FINK
War Hospital: A True Story of Surgery and Survival
Copyright © 2013 by Sheri Fink
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
CROWN and the Crown colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
“The Deadly Choices at Memorial,” by Sheri Fink. Copyright © 2009 by Pro Publica, Inc. All rights reserved. Portions reprinted by kind permission of Pro Publica, Inc. First published in the
New York Times Magazine
.
“Flu Nightmare: In Severe Pandemic, Officials Ponder Disconnecting Ventilators From Some Patients,” by Sheri Fink. Copyright © 2009 by Pro Publica, Inc. All rights reserved. Portions reprinted by kind permission of Pro Publica, Inc.
“Rationing Medical Care: Health Officials Struggle With Setting Standards,” by Sheri Fink. Copyright © 2009 by Pro Publica, Inc. All rights reserved. Portions reprinted by kind permission of Pro Publica, Inc. First published on
MinnPost.com
.
“Preparing for a Pandemic, State Health Departments Struggle with Rationing Decisions,” by Sheri Fink. Copyright © 2009 by Pro Publica, Inc. All rights reserved. Portions reprinted by kind permission of Pro Publica, Inc. First published in the
New York Times
.
“Doctors Face Ethical Decisions in Haiti” and “Rationing Health in Disasters,” by Sheri Fink. Copyright © 2010 by Sheri Fink. All rights reserved. First broadcast on
PRI’s The World
.
“In Hurricane’s Wake, Decisions Not to Evacuate Hospitals Raise Questions,” by Sheri Fink. Copyright © 2012 by Sheri Fink. All rights reserved. First published on
ProPublica.org
.
“Beyond Hurricane Heroics: What Sandy Has to Teach Us All About Preparedness,” by Sheri Fink. Copyright © 2013 by Sheri Fink. All rights reserved. First published in
Stanford Medicine Magazine
.
Photo of Memorial Medical Center complex, viewed from the south side, on Thursday September 1, 2005. Brad Loper /
Dallas Morning News
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
eISBN: 978-0-307-71898-3
Maps by Jeffrey L. Ward
Cover design by Chris Brand
v3.1_r1
For Mary Fink,
every living moment
CONTENTS
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
PHOTO
MAP
SELECTED INDIVIDUALS
NOTE TO THE READER
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NOTES
SELECTED INDIVIDUALS
Affiliations listed as at the time of the events in the book
.
Relatives listed only if they appear in the book
.
Doctors (many on staff at both Memorial and LifeCare)
Dr. Bill Armington—Neuroradiologist
Dr. Horace Baltz—Internal medicine specialist, one of the longest-serving medical staff members present for storm
Dr. Reuben Chrestman—Medical staff president; on vacation
Dr. Ewing Cook—Chief medical officer, retired pulmonologist experienced in critical care medicine
Minnie Cook, wife, former surgical intensive care unit nurse
Stephanie Meibaum, daughter, current surgical intensive care unit nurse
Dr. Roy Culotta—Pulmonologist and critical care specialist; grandmother sheltering at LifeCare
Dr. Richard E. Deichmann—Chairman, Department of Medical Services
Dr. Kathleen Fournier—Internal medicine specialist
Dr. Juan Jorge Gershanik—Neonatologist
Dr. Bryant King—Internal medicine specialist
Dr. John Kokemor—Internal medicine specialist; former coroner assistant under Dr. Frank Minyard
Dr. Anna Maria Pou—Otolaryngologist; head and neck surgeon, specialist in cancer surgery
Vincent Panepinto, husband
Peggy Perino, sister
Dr. Frederick Pou, father
Frederick Pou Jr., brother
Jeanette Pou, mother
Jeannie Pou, sister
Michael Pou, brother
Dr. Paul Primeaux—Anesthesiologist
Dr. John Skinner—Pathologist
Dr. John Thiele—Pulmonologist experienced in critical care medicine
Dr. John J. Walsh Jr.—Chairman, Department of Surgical Services
Memorial Medical Center
Nurses
Lori Budo—Surgical intensive care unit nurse
Cathy Green—Surgical intensive care unit nurse
Thao Lam—Medical intensive care unit nurse Cheri
Landry—Surgical intensive care unit nurse
Patients and Their Family Members (ages and locations as of time of storm)
Helen Breckenridge—77, intensive care unit, eighth floor
Jannie Burgess—79, intensive care unit, eighth floor
Linette Burgess Guidi, daughter
Johnny Clark, brother
Gladys Clark Smith, sister
Bertha Mitchell, niece
Essie Cavalier—79, fourth-floor medical ward
Donna Cotham—41, fourth-floor medical ward
Tesfalidet Ewale—66, intensive care unit, eighth floor
Merle Lagasse—76, fourth-floor medical ward Karen Lagasse, daughter
Rodney Scott—63, intensive care unit, eighth floor
Hospital Administrators, Managers, and Nonclinical Staff