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Five Days at Memorial Chapter 9 Part 3 Module 14
1. How are nurses Cheri Landry and Lori Budo faring? Karen Wynn? What did you think of their testimony before the grand jury? Whose testimony was conspicuously absent from the grand jury proceedings?
On page 402, Landry’s house was demolished after flooding after Hurricane Katrina. Landry was the sole provider and caregiver for her mother. Budo helped salvage Landry’s things from her house, took them home to clean and sanitize them. Budo was also the sole provider for her family, and she had college tuition to pay for her two kids aside from mortgage and car loans to pay. Neither nurse had a job to fall back on like Pou did. It was extremely difficult for them, and they had to rely on a support fund set up by their colleagues to pay their bills. When they were acquitted of the charges, they were reinstated as nurses at Ochsner Baptist Hospital. As for Karen Wynn, she was concerned about what was happening to her nurses (Budo and Landry) because she felt responsible for them, especially since Wynn made the nurse schedule and told Landry and Budo they were on duty for the hurricane. Wynn checked in on her nurses even though it was against legal advice. Wynn felt confident the staff did all they could for the patients during those five days at Memorial. As for Wynn’s testimony before the grand jury, Wynn was prepared by her lawyer in advance. At every meeting with her lawyer, Wynn had PTSD from the events that happened at Memorial. On page 413, Wynn decided she did not want to be a nurse anymore due to feeling worn out. She did not testify before the grand jury.
Minyard testified before the grand jury. Normally Minyard loves an audience and would be fine testifying however in this case, he did not want to go, and his family and colleagues did not want him to go either. He felt testifying went against his “religious convictions”. He is a corner and his “opinion on the matter of death is pivotal” in the case (page 418). Minyard also believed that Emmett Everett was a homicide and that telling the grand jury what he thought might get Pou convicted or might not. Even though Pou’s lawyer could easily defend her in the case of Emmett Everett’s death because of how big Emmett was and not knowing how much sedatives to use to sedate him.
There were all sorts of testimonies absent, but the most conspicuous was the families of Life Care patients as they were there right up until the end with their loved ones. John Thiele and Horace Baltz weren’t called to testify. Thiele was told not to say anything and not to bring any attention to himself by his own lawyer because of his involvement with helping Pou inject Life Care patients with the drugs. Baltz was against euthanasia of any patients The nurses who testified (Landry, Budo and D’Amico) they had immunity granted from ADA prior to testifying and they were unaware of the medical conditions of patients and disparaged Life Care nurses by saying they failed to care for their patients, and they did not evacuate them.
As for what I thought, Minyard’s testimony was the most intriguing because he knew Pou’s family, especially her father and he knew the kind of doctor she was. Minyard should have been against her according to forensic evidence. He was looking for ways to help her defend herself without putting his own job, his own thoughts about life and his love of his city, on the line.
2. Engage the questions posed on Page 440 (not page 453): “What about death in the United States? Why did it seem like Americans were so unprepared for it when it occurred?” What attitudes about death exist outside the United States?
Staff at Memorial were accused by Foti for playing God. Cathy Green, who is an ICU nurse knew that they were asked played God in the ICU every day and she did not like see patients in pain. She was very upset when “young” doctors would tell her that dying patients had less brain functioning and could not feel pain. She was disgusted with the young doctor and young nurse mind set when it came to dying patients. She told her daughter to take her to Holland when it came time for her to die.
Yes, Americans are unprepared for death and do not want to discuss death. Unless they create advanced directives with their families and plan out their deaths – it’s not seen as important topic. Most Americans are not present when their loved ones when die. As I see this every day in the hospice unit of where I work, most families do not come in when their loved one is dying. Or they do come in when they are actively dying but they were never there, day in and day out, when the loved one lived at the nursing home. It’s very sad to see one of my residents actively pass away and they have no family to take care of them during their last hours.
As for the attitude about death outside of the United States, death is seen as a part of everyday life, and it is widely accepted where families do take care of their loved ones and are there when they die. In certain countries the elderly are seen as very important to society. Thinking of Netherlands and Cathy Green, Holland is a place where assisted suicide is accepted, and people can make their own decision on how they want to die – terminally ill or not.
3. Reflect on the differing opinions offered following the grand jury decision. In your opinion, was justice served? Why or why not?
The grand jury’s decision was already decided early by hearing the testimonies from witnesses who explained how much pressure the staff was under to evacuate the hospital and how horrible the conditions were and agreed that Pou took care of all patients as a caring doctor would. The jurors already decided on how they would vote, and they voted not to indite Pou for all the charges brought against her and that she did not have an intent to kill the patients. It was a relief for all involved who were at Life Care and Memorial during those five days because the whole ordeal was finally over. Pou and others could get back to work and heal from the events after Hurricane Katrina. Justice was served in the case of Pou, although, it allowed for families to still bring civil suits against Pou, nurses and Life Care for the death of their loved ones. Because of how much empathy Pou’s supporters felt for Pou, they were able to dethrone Foti as Attorney General and fight for immunity for medical workers if anything like this were to happen again because of natural disasters.
Five Days at Memorial Chapter 9 Part 3 Module 14
1. How are nurses Cheri Landry and Lori Budo faring? Karen Wynn? What did you think of their testimony before the grand jury? Whose testimony was conspicuously absent from the grand jury proceedings?
On page 402, Landry’s house was demolished after flooding after Hurricane Katrina. Landry was the sole provider and caregiver for her mother. Budo helped salvage Landry’s things from her house, took them home to clean and sanitize them. Budo was also the sole provider for her family, and she had college tuition to pay for her two kids aside from mortgage and car loans to pay. Neither nurse had a job to fall back on like Pou did. It was extremely difficult for them, and they had to rely on a support fund set up by their colleagues to pay their bills. When they were acquitted of the charges, they were reinstated as nurses at Ochsner Baptist Hospital. As for Karen Wynn, she was concerned about what was happening to her nurses (Budo and Landry) because she felt responsible for them, especially since Wynn made the nurse schedule and told Landry and Budo they were on duty for the hurricane. Wynn checked in on her nurses even though it was against legal advice. Wynn felt confident the staff did all they could for the patients during those five days at Memorial. As for Wynn’s testimony before the grand jury, Wynn was prepared by her lawyer in advance. At every meeting with her lawyer, Wynn had PTSD from the events that happened at Memorial. On page 413, Wynn decided she did not want to be a nurse anymore due to feeling worn out. She did not testify before the grand jury.
Minyard testified before the grand jury. Normally Minyard loves an audience and would be fine testifying however in this case, he did not want to go, and his family and colleagues did not want him to go either. He felt testifying went against his “religious convictions”. He is a corner and his “opinion on the matter of death is pivotal” in the case (page 418). Minyard also believed that Emmett Everett was a homicide and that telling the grand jury what he thought might get Pou convicted or might not. Even though Pou’s lawyer could easily defend her in the case of Emmett Everett’s death because of how big Emmett was and not knowing how much sedatives to use to sedate him.
There were all sorts of testimonies absent, but the most conspicuous was the families of Life Care patients as they were there right up until the end with their loved ones. John Thiele and Horace Baltz weren’t called to testify. Thiele was told not to say anything and not to bring any attention to himself by his own lawyer because of his involvement with helping Pou inject Life Care patients with the drugs. Baltz was against euthanasia of any patients The nurses who testified (Landry, Budo and D’Amico) they had immunity granted from ADA prior to testifying and they were unaware of the medical conditions of patients and disparaged Life Care nurses by saying they failed to care for their patients, and they did not evacuate them.
As for what I thought, Minyard’s testimony was the most intriguing because he knew Pou’s family, especially her father and he knew the kind of doctor she was. Minyard should have been against her according to forensic evidence. He was looking for ways to help her defend herself without putting his own job, his own thoughts about life and his love of his city, on the line.
2. Engage the questions posed on Page 440 (not page 453): “What about death in the United States? Why did it seem like Americans were so unprepared for it when it occurred?” What attitudes about death exist outside the United States?
Staff at Memorial were accused by Foti for playing God. Cathy Green, who is an ICU nurse knew that they were asked played God in the ICU every day and she did not like see patients in pain. She was very upset when “young” doctors would tell her that dying patients had less brain functioning and could not feel pain. She was disgusted with the young doctor and young nurse mind set when it came to dying patients. She told her daughter to take her to Holland when it came time for her to die.
Yes, Americans are unprepared for death and do not want to discuss death. Unless they create advanced directives with their families and plan out their deaths – it’s not seen as an important topic. Most Americans are not present when their loved ones when die. As I see this every day in the hospice unit of where I work, most families do not come in when their loved one is dying. Or they do come in when they are actively dying but they were never there, day in and day out, when the loved one lived at the nursing home. It’s very sad to see one of my residents actively pass away and they have no family to take care of them during their last hours.
As for the attitude about death outside of the United States, death is seen as a part of everyday life, and it is widely accepted where families do take care of their loved ones and are there when they die. In certain countries the elderly are seen as very important to society. Thinking of Netherlands and Cathy Green, Holland is a place where assisted suicide is accepted, and people can make their own decision on how they want to die – terminally ill or not.
3. Reflect on the differing opinions offered following the grand jury decision. In your opinion, was justice served? Why or why not?
The grand jury’s decision was already decided early by hearing the testimonies from witnesses who explained how much pressure the staff was under to evacuate the hospital and how horrible the conditions were and agreed that Pou took care of all patients as a caring doctor would. The jurors already decided on how they would vote, and they voted not to indite Pou for all the charges brought against her and that she did not have an intent to kill the patients. It was a relief for all involved who were at Life Care and Memorial during those five days because the whole ordeal was finally over. Pou and others could get back to work and heal from the events after Hurricane Katrina. Justice was served in the case of Pou, although, it allowed for families to still bring civil suits against Pou, nurses and Life Care for the death of their loved ones. Because of how much empathy Pou’s supporters felt for Pou, they were able to dethrone Foti as Attorney General and fight for immunity for medical workers if anything like this were to happen again because of natural disasters.
(Edited since the website crashed on me this weekend.)
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