[Tina Vaillancourt]

Chapter 9 Part One

1. What stood out to me when Pou was arrested was how disappointed I was that the prosecutor didn’t keep his word and notify Attorney Simmons about the arrest. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the decisions she made I believe she certainly deserved to be treated with a little more dignity and respect. Personally, I felt sad for Dr. Pou when she was arrested. I am not saying she made the right decisions during the hurricane but she was not acting with evil intent and she would have turned herself in if she was asked to do so. I can only imagine how she must have felt being arrested. Even though she was extended some courtesies during the arrest and booking process, she must have been shocked and humiliated to be treated like a criminal.

2. After viewing the press conference, it seems like Dr. Pou’s guilt or innocence will be based upon what the jury believes her motive was. The Attorney General was confident that he could prove her intent was to commit homicide but her attorney was adamant about the fact that she was only motivated by her desire to care for her patients as best she could.

3. I am not sure you ever really know if someone is truly prepared to react to a situation like this until they are actually tested, but I do think there are some things people can do to help develop the leadership skills necessary in such situations. Pre-planning seems to be key. I think simulated drills where people could familiarize themselves with their roles would be very helpful. I also think it is important to set out a clear chain of command so that people know who is in charge in times of crisis.

4. Charity Hospital seemed to fair much better than Memorial for a couple of reasons. For one, the decision to continue to care for patients in their rooms until the very last minute seemed to be a wise one. The workers there seemed to have created a more uniformed approach to care by holding regular meetings every four hours. The workers at Charity also did a much better job of building morale by doing things like painting and laughing. Charity Hospital also seemed to be better prepared for the event by stockpiling generators and other equipment that was foreseeable. Charity had drilled for a category 3 hurricane and levee failure as well as disaster training for their security officers.

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