The Times-Picayune and The Advocate reports the Louisiana Department of Health approved Bob Dean’s plans to evacuate as many as 700 nursing home residents to a warehouse in Independence, but L-D-H says the plan was not properly executed for Hurricane Ida. Governor John Bel Edwards had this to say about the situation.
“Unfortunately I think evacuations are going to be required on occasion, the question is whether are we doing them the way we should,” said Edwards.
Over 800 nursing home residents ended up at the facility in Independence, 20-percent more than what was submitted to the state. LDH says after landfall, backup generators failed, basic care needs were not met and there was a stench of urine and feces throughout the building.
Edwards says it’s not easy to evacuate a nursing home, but there were dozens of other facilities that did it successfully.
“And were able to shelter their residents in shelters that prove to be hardened sufficiently and were able to house the people safely,” said Edwards.
The state health department says there have been seven nursing home deaths connected to the evacuation and what happened afterward. Edwards says an investigation is ongoing.
“And we are going to see exactly what that investigation reveals, what I can tell you is that any loss of life is tragic and we need to minimize that in every turn,” said Edwards.
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