1
00:00:14,348 --> 00:00:20,270
In the five days following Katrina,
the conditions in that hospital--
2
00:00:20,354 --> 00:00:22,564
In all my years of medicine...
3
00:00:24,358 --> 00:00:27,569
I've never seen anything like that, ever.
4
00:00:27,653 --> 00:00:29,154
[interviewer 1] So, are you saying that
5
00:00:29,238 --> 00:00:31,615
the conditions are the reason
why 45 people ended up dead?
6
00:00:31,615 --> 00:00:34,785
No, no, no, no. [stammers]
It wasn't just the conditions.
7
00:00:34,785 --> 00:00:35,869
[chuckles]
8
00:00:36,537 --> 00:00:38,330
It's not that simple.
9
00:00:41,124 --> 00:00:42,835
Well, then maybe you can explain.
10
00:00:43,418 --> 00:00:49,258
[sighs] Well, in those conditions, and
perhaps because of those conditions,
11
00:00:49,883 --> 00:00:56,723
um, decisions got made
that never should have been made.
12
00:00:58,016 --> 00:01:00,811
[sighs] And we should get to that.
13
00:01:05,607 --> 00:01:09,695
[singer] Wade in the water ♪
14
00:01:12,489 --> 00:01:17,244
Wade in the water, children ♪
15
00:01:18,328 --> 00:01:23,125
[singer, chorus] Wade in the water ♪
16
00:01:23,125 --> 00:01:28,422
Wade in the water, children ♪
17
00:01:28,422 --> 00:01:33,093
Wade in the water ♪
18
00:01:33,177 --> 00:01:38,473
God is gonna trouble these waters ♪
19
00:01:38,557 --> 00:01:42,561
[chorus] Man went down to the river ♪
20
00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:48,442
Man went down to the river, Lord ♪
21
00:01:48,442 --> 00:01:52,696
Man went down to the river ♪
22
00:01:53,530 --> 00:01:57,201
Went down there for to pray ♪
23
00:01:57,743 --> 00:01:58,744
[singer] Oh ♪
24
00:01:58,744 --> 00:02:02,664
[singer, chorus] Wade in the water ♪
25
00:02:03,916 --> 00:02:08,753
Wade in the water, children ♪
26
00:02:10,339 --> 00:02:12,716
Wade in the water ♪
27
00:02:13,425 --> 00:02:18,430
God is gonna trouble these waters ♪
28
00:02:18,931 --> 00:02:21,016
[vocalizing]
29
00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:29,566
[singer]
God's gonna trouble these waters ♪
30
00:02:29,650 --> 00:02:31,276
[music ends]
31
00:02:36,490 --> 00:02:38,951
[reporter 1] We are still just beginning
to learn the extent
32
00:02:38,951 --> 00:02:43,330
of the death and the damage in
the worst natural disaster in US history.
33
00:02:43,330 --> 00:02:45,415
[reporter 2] Final death toll
may not be known for days,
34
00:02:45,499 --> 00:02:47,334
but it could be in the thousands.
-Please.
35
00:02:47,334 --> 00:02:49,086
[reporter 3] The neediest patients
are being airlifted out.
36
00:02:49,086 --> 00:02:50,921
We got the baby up to the helipad,
37
00:02:50,921 --> 00:02:53,257
and I flew with her
in a helicopter over to Baton Rouge.
38
00:02:53,257 --> 00:02:55,926
[reporter 4] Conditions worsen for those
who took shelter at the Superdome.
39
00:02:55,926 --> 00:02:58,303
[citizen]
We haven't eaten in, like, five days.
40
00:02:58,387 --> 00:03:00,973
It was worse than prison. At least
in prison you got somewhere to urinate,
41
00:03:00,973 --> 00:03:03,016
and other bathroom needs.
Here, you had nothing.
42
00:03:03,100 --> 00:03:05,185
This woman here has lost her two children.
43
00:03:05,269 --> 00:03:06,311
She don't know where they're at.
44
00:03:06,395 --> 00:03:08,772
They don't know if she--
if they're alive or dead.
45
00:03:08,856 --> 00:03:10,107
[interviewer] Mr. President...
-[Bush] Last question.
46
00:03:10,107 --> 00:03:11,191
...this is two weeks in.
47
00:03:11,275 --> 00:03:13,402
You must have developed
a clear image at this point
48
00:03:13,402 --> 00:03:16,572
of one critical thing
that went wrong in the first five days.
49
00:03:16,572 --> 00:03:18,699
Oh, I think there'll be plenty of time
to analyze,
50
00:03:18,699 --> 00:03:23,912
particularly, the structure of the
relationship between government levels.
51
00:03:23,996 --> 00:03:24,997
Um...
52
00:03:25,497 --> 00:03:27,666
What I think Congress needs to--
I know Congress needs to do,
53
00:03:27,666 --> 00:03:29,042
and we're doing this internally as well,
54
00:03:29,126 --> 00:03:31,879
is to take a sober look at
the decision-making that went on.
55
00:03:31,879 --> 00:03:33,589
[interviewer 2] Mr. President,
can I just clarify one thing?
56
00:03:33,589 --> 00:03:34,756
No, no, no. Okay, thank you.
57
00:03:55,569 --> 00:03:56,570
[door opens]
58
00:03:57,279 --> 00:03:58,864
[doctor] You're from New Orleans, right?
59
00:03:59,448 --> 00:04:01,950
Well, a-actually, Baton Rouge.
About an hour away.
60
00:04:02,034 --> 00:04:03,327
How was the storm there?
61
00:04:04,161 --> 00:04:06,705
Well, it's nothing like New Orleans,
but... [chuckles]
62
00:04:06,705 --> 00:04:10,083
Well, apart from the smoking,
you're in good shape.
63
00:04:10,167 --> 00:04:11,668
I can't find anything wrong.
64
00:04:13,587 --> 00:04:15,339
All right. Thanks, Doc. [wheezes]
65
00:04:34,233 --> 00:04:35,567
[attendant] All done.
-Oh.
66
00:04:35,651 --> 00:04:37,152
[attendant] Hi, sir.
-Hi.
67
00:04:37,861 --> 00:04:40,697
We found some photos when
we were vacuuming under the seats.
68
00:04:40,781 --> 00:04:44,243
Put 'em on the passenger seat for you.
-Oh, all right. Great. Here you go.
69
00:04:44,243 --> 00:04:46,328
Thank you, sir.
-Here. Take double.
70
00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:48,121
[chuckles]
71
00:04:58,340 --> 00:04:59,341
[sighs]
72
00:05:14,523 --> 00:05:15,524
[door opens]
73
00:05:19,653 --> 00:05:20,654
[friend] Butch.
-Hey.
74
00:05:20,654 --> 00:05:23,490
Can I get you something to drink?
-Oh, no, I'm good, Emma. Thank you, dear.
75
00:05:27,119 --> 00:05:28,328
Fellas, how are you?
76
00:05:39,089 --> 00:05:40,299
So what'd he say?
77
00:05:41,049 --> 00:05:44,178
Well, there's nothing wrong with me.
Apparently.
78
00:05:45,137 --> 00:05:46,471
Well, that's good.
79
00:05:47,723 --> 00:05:51,935
Hey... [sighs] ...how about just you
and me go out to dinner tonight?
80
00:05:56,481 --> 00:06:01,195
Butch... I think I'd just rather
stay with the family, if that's okay?
81
00:06:02,487 --> 00:06:03,989
[sobs, sniffles]
82
00:06:06,909 --> 00:06:07,910
[sniffles]
83
00:06:08,577 --> 00:06:09,786
Hey, whatever you want.
84
00:06:11,038 --> 00:06:13,624
What, uh, what is the plan here?
85
00:06:14,499 --> 00:06:19,379
[scoffs] Well, you got your choice
of eight different casseroles.
86
00:06:19,463 --> 00:06:21,590
[phone vibrating]
-Oh. Shit.
87
00:06:22,633 --> 00:06:24,718
Oh, God. One-- One second, Lin.
88
00:06:26,929 --> 00:06:28,055
Arthur Schafer.
89
00:06:29,014 --> 00:06:30,057
Yeah, I'll hold.
90
00:06:31,850 --> 00:06:32,851
Yes, sir.
91
00:06:34,061 --> 00:06:35,521
Ah, thank you, sir.
92
00:06:36,063 --> 00:06:37,231
We're, uh--
93
00:06:38,232 --> 00:06:40,067
We're doing okay. Yep.
94
00:06:41,109 --> 00:06:42,402
Well, I appreciate that.
95
00:06:46,281 --> 00:06:52,579
Well, I-I'm in Atlanta with my family,
but I can meet you the day after tomorrow?
96
00:06:52,663 --> 00:06:55,207
Is it-- No, no, that's no problem.
97
00:06:56,834 --> 00:06:58,961
All right. Okay, well, see you then.
98
00:07:35,873 --> 00:07:37,165
Yes, sir.
99
00:07:37,249 --> 00:07:39,168
The attorney general will see you now.
100
00:07:39,168 --> 00:07:40,335
Thank you.
101
00:07:46,842 --> 00:07:48,635
[sighs, chuckles]
102
00:07:49,469 --> 00:07:52,264
Butch. Good to see you.
-You too, sir.
103
00:07:52,264 --> 00:07:55,392
So, uh, how are you holding up?
104
00:07:56,310 --> 00:08:00,480
Oh, you know. [sighs] About as good as
could be expected. But depends on the day.
105
00:08:00,564 --> 00:08:03,775
I do know.
My own father passed in May. He was 92.
106
00:08:03,859 --> 00:08:06,069
Took care of him till the very end.
107
00:08:06,153 --> 00:08:07,070
Mmm.
108
00:08:07,154 --> 00:08:09,281
I know it's not the same thing, but...
109
00:08:10,157 --> 00:08:11,241
Yeah. [chuckles]
110
00:08:12,951 --> 00:08:13,952
Anyway.
111
00:08:14,953 --> 00:08:16,496
For the two weeks since the storm,
112
00:08:16,580 --> 00:08:19,416
all that's been on television
are endless stories,
113
00:08:19,416 --> 00:08:24,004
horror stories, about abuses that
took place under the color of authority.
114
00:08:24,755 --> 00:08:27,341
Now, I'm interested
in looking into what happened.
115
00:08:27,341 --> 00:08:30,886
Seems like there was a gross dereliction
of duty across the board.
116
00:08:30,886 --> 00:08:34,847
In particular, I wanna take a look at what
happened at Memorial Medical Center.
117
00:08:35,432 --> 00:08:38,393
They found 45 dead bodies there, you know?
118
00:08:38,477 --> 00:08:41,104
Yeah, I heard that.
-More than anywhere else.
119
00:08:41,188 --> 00:08:43,398
Forty-five dead patients.
120
00:08:43,482 --> 00:08:45,526
Now, does that make any sense to you?
121
00:08:46,193 --> 00:08:49,821
Maybe a-at a hospital that size,
you know, given the conditions,
122
00:08:49,905 --> 00:08:52,157
maybe 45 patients just succumbed.
123
00:08:54,868 --> 00:08:56,078
Maybe they didn't.
124
00:09:01,375 --> 00:09:03,252
[Butch]
Is this the office of the general counsel?
125
00:09:03,252 --> 00:09:04,378
[attorney] Yes.
-Hi.
126
00:09:04,378 --> 00:09:08,298
Uh, this is Arthur Schafer with
the Louisiana State Medicaid Fraud Unit.
127
00:09:08,382 --> 00:09:11,134
[stammers]
Are you the Tenet general counsel?
128
00:09:11,218 --> 00:09:13,303
No, but I'm an attorney at that office.
129
00:09:13,387 --> 00:09:16,014
All right, and your name is?
-Bowers. Jim Bowers.
130
00:09:16,098 --> 00:09:17,599
Uh, Mr. Bowers.
131
00:09:17,683 --> 00:09:21,353
Uh, we're looking into what happened at
Memorial Hospital during the hurricane,
132
00:09:21,353 --> 00:09:24,773
and we'd like to get a list from you
of all the deceased patients,
133
00:09:24,857 --> 00:09:27,484
plus a copy of your disaster plan.
134
00:09:27,568 --> 00:09:32,114
Okay. Um, uh, before we--
Uh, can you explain your intentions here?
135
00:09:32,823 --> 00:09:36,952
Well, our understanding is that
45 patients died at your hospital
136
00:09:36,952 --> 00:09:41,790
during the hurricane and in the aftermath,
and we need to understand what happened.
137
00:09:44,459 --> 00:09:47,296
Are you aware of that? These deaths?
138
00:09:47,296 --> 00:09:48,422
Mr. Schafer,
139
00:09:48,422 --> 00:09:51,133
I'd appreciate it if you could put
whatever questions you have for us,
140
00:09:51,133 --> 00:09:53,177
if you could send us those in writing.
141
00:09:53,177 --> 00:09:54,344
In writing?
142
00:09:55,971 --> 00:09:59,141
[chuckles] Okay.
But you do have the records?
143
00:09:59,141 --> 00:10:02,144
As I said, please put it all
in writing, and we'll respond.
144
00:10:02,144 --> 00:10:04,229
Well, when can we expect you to respond?
145
00:10:05,147 --> 00:10:07,399
Uh, as soon as we can.
146
00:10:07,399 --> 00:10:09,776
I'm sorry, I've got another call.
Thank you.
147
00:10:09,860 --> 00:10:11,445
[line clicks]
-[disconnect tone]
148
00:10:21,663 --> 00:10:23,582
[Butch] Virginia.
-[chuckles] Butch.
149
00:10:23,582 --> 00:10:27,044
[laughs] Hey! Thanks for making the time.
-[chuckles]
150
00:10:28,086 --> 00:10:29,755
So, how's Kevin?
151
00:10:29,755 --> 00:10:33,467
He's good. Thinks I work too much,
which, of course, is true. [chuckles]
152
00:10:34,676 --> 00:10:35,677
Yeah.
153
00:10:38,305 --> 00:10:40,933
I was very sorry to hear about Shelly.
154
00:10:42,100 --> 00:10:43,519
Can't even imagine.
155
00:10:44,394 --> 00:10:45,521
Thanks.
156
00:10:46,939 --> 00:10:48,357
How are you and Linda doing?
157
00:10:48,357 --> 00:10:52,819
Well, she's still with her family
out in Atlanta, and... [sighs] ...it's, um...
158
00:10:53,946 --> 00:10:57,699
Man, it's hard.
You know, it comes and goes in waves.
159
00:10:57,783 --> 00:11:01,078
[stammers] I'm really glad to be back
at work, have some place to put my focus.
160
00:11:01,078 --> 00:11:02,162
Yeah.
161
00:11:02,913 --> 00:11:06,083
[stammers] How about you?
How are all the fraudsters?
162
00:11:06,750 --> 00:11:09,628
Oh, you know, they're still out there,
stealing away a nickel at a time.
163
00:11:09,628 --> 00:11:11,171
Till they run up against you.
164
00:11:11,255 --> 00:11:14,633
Yeah, well, that's the thing.
'Cause people lie, but numbers never do.
165
00:11:15,217 --> 00:11:17,052
Uh-huh.
-[both chuckle]
166
00:11:19,263 --> 00:11:23,350
So, Charles Foti,
he's asked me to look into the--
167
00:11:23,350 --> 00:11:26,144
the deaths at
Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans.
168
00:11:26,228 --> 00:11:28,564
I read about that. Forty-five dead bodies?
169
00:11:28,564 --> 00:11:31,692
Yeah. Our office, we have
to characterize each of these deaths.
170
00:11:31,692 --> 00:11:33,026
It's gonna be a lot of work.
171
00:11:33,110 --> 00:11:35,696
Just finding the people who are scattered
everywhere after the storm
172
00:11:35,696 --> 00:11:36,822
is gonna be a nightmare.
173
00:11:36,822 --> 00:11:38,323
You're viewing these as crimes?
174
00:11:38,407 --> 00:11:42,411
Uh, it's a lot of deaths,
but you have to look at the conditions.
175
00:11:42,411 --> 00:11:44,454
I mean, things were pretty horrific.
176
00:11:44,538 --> 00:11:47,583
Can you imagine being a doctor or nurse
in the middle of all that?
177
00:11:47,583 --> 00:11:49,877
What they did, that was incredible.
178
00:11:49,877 --> 00:11:51,003
Yeah, I agree.
179
00:11:52,546 --> 00:11:54,965
But there's a couple of things
that are wonky here.
180
00:11:55,632 --> 00:11:57,509
So, I called this attorney at Tenet.
181
00:11:57,593 --> 00:12:00,387
They're the ones who own the place,
you know, changed the name from "Baptist."
182
00:12:00,387 --> 00:12:04,224
Just a routine information request,
but he starts giving me the runaround.
183
00:12:04,308 --> 00:12:07,561
Says I have to fax him all
of my requests in writing,
184
00:12:07,561 --> 00:12:09,438
and then he faxes me back
all this other stuff.
185
00:12:09,438 --> 00:12:13,859
Corporate statement. Articles about
the heroism of the medical workers.
186
00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,989
And then he says that he can't locate
any of the medical records
187
00:12:18,989 --> 00:12:20,282
that I asked him for.
188
00:12:20,282 --> 00:12:22,659
And then I get this over the transom.
189
00:12:22,743 --> 00:12:25,412
It's a--
It's from a LifeCare attorney.
190
00:12:25,412 --> 00:12:29,833
Now, LifeCare's this-- this company
that runs a facility inside Memorial,
191
00:12:29,917 --> 00:12:32,044
so this hospital within a hospital, so...
192
00:12:32,669 --> 00:12:36,131
"Although we are just beginning
to collect the relevant facts,
193
00:12:36,215 --> 00:12:38,050
we have information that the patients..."
194
00:12:38,050 --> 00:12:41,887
meaning, their patients who died,
the LifeCare patients, right,
195
00:12:41,887 --> 00:12:46,725
"...were administered morphine
by the physician Dr. Anna Pou,
196
00:12:46,725 --> 00:12:50,020
whom we believe is not an employee
of LifeCare,
197
00:12:50,020 --> 00:12:54,525
at a time when it appeared the patients
could not be successfully evacuated."
198
00:12:54,525 --> 00:12:58,028
So they're suggesting that some of their
patients' lives may have been ended?
199
00:12:58,904 --> 00:12:59,947
Who's this Dr. Pou?
200
00:13:00,656 --> 00:13:02,658
I don't know yet.
-Well, we need to find her.
201
00:13:02,658 --> 00:13:04,368
I'd assume she was working at Memorial.
202
00:13:04,368 --> 00:13:07,579
And it'd be very helpful to get ahold
of those LifeCare patient records.
203
00:13:08,539 --> 00:13:11,083
Now, Virginia,
I know you're a forensic accountant,
204
00:13:11,083 --> 00:13:13,836
and this may be a little broader than
the normal scope of your cases,
205
00:13:13,836 --> 00:13:17,297
but, man,
I need your analytical mind on this.
206
00:13:17,381 --> 00:13:20,092
This is like a-- like a jigsaw puzzle
with a thousand pieces
207
00:13:20,092 --> 00:13:22,344
that are all the same color.
-Then get chewed up by the dog.
208
00:13:22,344 --> 00:13:24,680
Exactly. So, I was hoping that--
209
00:13:25,472 --> 00:13:29,476
Man, I would love it, in fact, if you
would be willing to work on this with me.
210
00:13:31,728 --> 00:13:33,146
Isn't that what we're doing?
211
00:13:41,864 --> 00:13:46,118
[colleague] How'd y'all survive the storm?
You and your husband. Your house is okay?
212
00:13:46,869 --> 00:13:48,579
We live uptown on high ground.
213
00:13:48,579 --> 00:13:53,458
You know, one block was dry, one block
was underwater, but we got lucky.
214
00:13:53,542 --> 00:13:55,085
That's great to hear.
-Hmm.
215
00:13:57,129 --> 00:13:58,547
So, Anna, uh...
216
00:14:00,799 --> 00:14:03,886
given that Memorial's not gonna
be reopening any time soon,
217
00:14:05,429 --> 00:14:09,349
um, we would love it
if you would consider joining us at LSU.
218
00:14:09,975 --> 00:14:14,021
That is, if you wouldn't mind spending
a few nights a week up in Baton Rouge.
219
00:14:17,941 --> 00:14:20,694
I'd commute to Tennessee
if it meant getting back to work.
220
00:14:20,694 --> 00:14:23,488
Well, we're closer than that,
and we have a better football team.
221
00:14:23,572 --> 00:14:25,240
[laughs] True. That's true.
222
00:14:25,824 --> 00:14:28,869
Hell, we all think you're one of
the best surgeons in the entire state.
223
00:14:29,745 --> 00:14:30,954
Thank you for saying that.
224
00:14:31,038 --> 00:14:34,708
So, when things settle down in a couple
of months, we can talk about it.
225
00:14:34,708 --> 00:14:38,587
No. I'm saying yes.
I'm ready to start now.
226
00:14:39,171 --> 00:14:40,172
You are?
227
00:14:40,172 --> 00:14:44,510
Yes. Sure. Yes, I wanna get back to work.
228
00:14:45,010 --> 00:14:47,930
Well, that is beyond what I, uh...
[stammers]
229
00:14:48,472 --> 00:14:49,765
That is wonderful.
-[chuckles]
230
00:14:49,765 --> 00:14:52,434
That is wonderful. [chuckles]
-[laughs] Good.
231
00:14:52,518 --> 00:14:58,106
[stammers]
Ch-Cheers to that. I am thrilled.
232
00:14:59,274 --> 00:15:01,318
Thank you. I'm thrilled too.
233
00:15:07,616 --> 00:15:11,453
Good morning, y'all.
I'm Callie Fredricks from Tenet.
234
00:15:11,537 --> 00:15:13,580
Thanks for coming all the way out here
to go to work today
235
00:15:13,664 --> 00:15:15,415
and for joining our call team.
236
00:15:15,499 --> 00:15:17,876
Okay, so,
on the table here are your face sheets,
237
00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:20,003
one for each of the deceased patients.
238
00:15:20,087 --> 00:15:22,923
Your names are on
the ones you've been assigned.
239
00:15:22,923 --> 00:15:24,925
You all got your
calling instruction packets, right?
240
00:15:24,925 --> 00:15:26,134
[volunteers] Yes, ma'am. Yes.
-[sighs, scoffs]
241
00:15:26,218 --> 00:15:27,678
Okay, so, just to reiterate,
242
00:15:27,678 --> 00:15:30,764
only speak in general terms,
never give an opinion.
243
00:15:30,848 --> 00:15:34,393
The loved ones are usually angry,
and that's not surprising.
244
00:15:34,393 --> 00:15:37,437
Most of 'em have no information yet
about their loved ones,
245
00:15:37,521 --> 00:15:39,064
only what they've seen on the news.
246
00:15:39,064 --> 00:15:40,524
Excuse me.
247
00:15:40,524 --> 00:15:43,902
No one from Tenet has spoken
to any of the family members?
248
00:15:43,986 --> 00:15:45,821
They may have tried to call in,
249
00:15:45,821 --> 00:15:48,448
but no one's had the information
to give them yet, no.
250
00:15:49,032 --> 00:15:53,495
So, most importantly,
just tell the family members the truth.
251
00:15:53,579 --> 00:15:58,083
That the patients may have died due to
lack of electricity or high temperatures.
252
00:15:58,917 --> 00:16:01,044
Okay? Okay.
253
00:16:04,214 --> 00:16:05,841
This is Susan Mulderick.
254
00:16:05,841 --> 00:16:08,969
I am a supervisor
at Memorial Medical Center,
255
00:16:08,969 --> 00:16:12,556
and I'm calling about your mother,
Shirley Broussard.
256
00:16:12,556 --> 00:16:15,893
[relative gasps]
Finally. I've been trying to reach anyone.
257
00:16:15,893 --> 00:16:17,811
Unfortunately, Miss Broussard,
258
00:16:17,895 --> 00:16:23,650
I am very sorry to say that your mother,
uh, died at the hospital
259
00:16:23,734 --> 00:16:28,405
between the hurricane and the evacuation
of patients from the facility.
260
00:16:28,405 --> 00:16:32,034
[breathes shakily]
I had this weird hope that maybe she was...
261
00:16:33,035 --> 00:16:35,245
Oh, my God. [sobs]
262
00:16:35,954 --> 00:16:37,873
I'm so sorry this took two weeks.
263
00:16:38,624 --> 00:16:41,043
"Your loved one was cared for throughout."
264
00:16:41,043 --> 00:16:41,960
[Miss Broussard sobs]
265
00:16:42,044 --> 00:16:47,758
"Your loved one was identified and
shrouded, and placed in our chapel area."
266
00:16:49,134 --> 00:16:52,596
"Your loved one was treated with dignity."
267
00:16:52,596 --> 00:16:53,847
I don't understand.
268
00:16:53,931 --> 00:16:56,683
Why wasn't she evacuated
ahead of the storm?
269
00:16:58,185 --> 00:17:01,396
Uh, that was based on
the risk to the patient.
270
00:17:03,023 --> 00:17:04,650
Other patients got out.
271
00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:07,569
What was her risk?
272
00:17:08,904 --> 00:17:12,074
I'm sorry. I-I don't have
that specific information.
273
00:17:13,407 --> 00:17:14,910
[Karen] The state retrieved your loved one
274
00:17:14,992 --> 00:17:17,496
and brought him to
the parish coroner's office.
275
00:17:17,496 --> 00:17:18,997
[Miss Broussard continues sobbing]
276
00:17:18,997 --> 00:17:21,625
The cause of death will be identified,
and a... [inhales]
277
00:17:21,625 --> 00:17:23,627
...death certificate will be made available.
278
00:17:23,627 --> 00:17:25,796
[sobbing continues]
279
00:17:25,878 --> 00:17:27,714
State officials will then contact you.
280
00:17:28,214 --> 00:17:29,800
I am very sorry.
281
00:17:30,384 --> 00:17:31,969
We are so sorry.
-[sobbing continues]
282
00:17:31,969 --> 00:17:33,303
Goodbye.
283
00:17:33,387 --> 00:17:34,721
[Karen] Okay. Goodbye.
284
00:17:35,430 --> 00:17:36,765
[sighs]
285
00:17:40,310 --> 00:17:41,562
[sighs]
286
00:17:43,939 --> 00:17:45,482
[sighs]
287
00:17:48,861 --> 00:17:52,072
There was some patients there that, uh...
288
00:17:53,156 --> 00:17:55,534
um, were critically ill,
289
00:17:55,534 --> 00:18:01,415
and regardless of the storm, uh, had, uh--
had the orders of "do not resuscitate."
290
00:18:01,415 --> 00:18:04,793
In other words, if they died,
to allow them to die naturally,
291
00:18:04,877 --> 00:18:10,799
and not to, uh, use any heroic mes--
methods to resuscitate them.
292
00:18:11,633 --> 00:18:15,095
Um, we all did everything we could
within our power
293
00:18:15,179 --> 00:18:19,224
to give the best treatment
to the patients in the hospital
294
00:18:19,850 --> 00:18:21,351
and make them comfortable.
295
00:18:21,435 --> 00:18:23,270
Yeah, she comes across very well.
296
00:18:24,021 --> 00:18:25,647
Maybe a little too well.
297
00:18:26,231 --> 00:18:29,693
Didn't she seem a little unemotional
just a few days after all those deaths?
298
00:18:29,693 --> 00:18:32,696
She's a doctor.
She's just being professional.
299
00:18:33,447 --> 00:18:38,035
Well, this notion that doctors and nurses
would intentionally kill their patients,
300
00:18:38,035 --> 00:18:39,411
that just seems nuts.
301
00:18:39,411 --> 00:18:42,581
Yeah. I did follow up with Tenet
about getting those medical records.
302
00:18:42,581 --> 00:18:43,665
And?
303
00:18:43,749 --> 00:18:45,584
They were nothing but vague
about where they are.
304
00:18:45,584 --> 00:18:49,046
Well, maybe we need to subpoena them,
or at least threaten that.
305
00:18:49,046 --> 00:18:51,340
I got a better idea.
-What's that?
306
00:18:51,340 --> 00:18:53,842
Why don't we drive down to New Orleans
and go to Memorial?
307
00:18:53,926 --> 00:18:55,802
Don't you wanna see
the place with your own eyes?
308
00:18:55,886 --> 00:18:58,972
Plus, maybe we'll get lucky
and find those records ourselves.
309
00:19:06,271 --> 00:19:08,649
[Butch] Hey. Mind if I smoke?
310
00:19:08,649 --> 00:19:11,527
Actually, I do.
I hate the smell on my clothes.
311
00:19:13,195 --> 00:19:16,114
Ah, man. Remember when you used
to be able to smoke on a plane?
312
00:19:18,242 --> 00:19:20,536
I remember when I was, like, 12,
313
00:19:20,536 --> 00:19:23,038
I was flying to California
to go to Disneyland.
314
00:19:23,038 --> 00:19:24,873
And I was sitting in
the no-smoking section,
315
00:19:24,957 --> 00:19:28,919
which was absolutely ridiculous, because I
still ingested, like, two packs of smoke.
316
00:19:28,919 --> 00:19:31,296
Well, at least
you were going to Disneyland.
317
00:19:31,380 --> 00:19:32,464
That's true.
318
00:19:34,508 --> 00:19:36,134
Hey, you ever think about quitting?
319
00:19:37,094 --> 00:19:39,596
Oh, I think about quitting all the time.
320
00:19:40,180 --> 00:19:41,223
[chuckles]
321
00:19:49,982 --> 00:19:50,816
Look at that.
322
00:19:52,484 --> 00:19:54,236
I can get to it.
Let me pull it to the top.
323
00:19:54,236 --> 00:19:58,866
The pictures,
they don't really do it justice, do they?
324
00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:03,996
[Butch] It's like getting hit by a truck.
325
00:20:04,663 --> 00:20:06,999
You think you know what it's like,
326
00:20:06,999 --> 00:20:10,627
but you can't really know
unless you get hit by the truck.
327
00:20:29,730 --> 00:20:30,731
Can I help you?
328
00:20:30,731 --> 00:20:33,609
Yeah, we're investigators with
the state attorney general's office.
329
00:20:33,609 --> 00:20:35,444
We need to take a look around inside.
330
00:20:35,444 --> 00:20:37,070
[guard] That's not gonna happen.
331
00:20:37,738 --> 00:20:40,532
Sorry. Pardon me?
-Not without a warrant or a hazmat suit.
332
00:20:40,616 --> 00:20:43,869
You don't have a hazmat suit.
They don't have hazmat suits.
333
00:20:43,869 --> 00:20:47,039
Without a hazmat suit and a warrant,
you're not going inside.
334
00:20:47,039 --> 00:20:48,290
Who do y'all work for?
335
00:20:48,290 --> 00:20:51,001
We're under contract at Tenet.
They own this hospital.
336
00:20:51,001 --> 00:20:52,794
You have a supervisor?
337
00:20:52,878 --> 00:20:55,881
Sure. Yeah. Yeah, you wanna call him?
338
00:20:55,881 --> 00:20:58,091
He's just gonna tell you
the exact same thing.
339
00:21:01,970 --> 00:21:04,223
Well, come on. Let's go.
-[scoffs] Asshole.
340
00:21:04,973 --> 00:21:07,935
[Butch] I know a good place for lunch.
It'll make it worth the drive.
341
00:21:13,565 --> 00:21:15,567
[cell phone ringing]
342
00:21:19,488 --> 00:21:20,405
Hello?
343
00:21:20,489 --> 00:21:21,990
[caller] Dr. Pou?
-Yes?
344
00:21:22,074 --> 00:21:24,910
My name is Liz Jarvis.
I'm a producer with CNN.
345
00:21:24,910 --> 00:21:27,120
We saw your interview on Channel 2.
346
00:21:27,204 --> 00:21:30,290
We hear the state's investigating
the deaths at Memorial Medical Center,
347
00:21:30,374 --> 00:21:33,585
and we want to get the medical
professionals' side of the story.
348
00:21:34,795 --> 00:21:36,296
[phone ringing]
349
00:21:38,006 --> 00:21:39,174
Hello?
350
00:21:39,258 --> 00:21:41,176
Susan, it's Anna.
351
00:21:41,927 --> 00:21:42,928
Hey, Anna.
352
00:21:42,928 --> 00:21:44,388
How are you doing?
353
00:21:44,388 --> 00:21:46,223
Oh... [sighs] ...we're fine.
354
00:21:46,223 --> 00:21:48,684
You know, my husband, Vince and I,
we're-- we're good.
355
00:21:48,684 --> 00:21:53,230
Uh, our house made it through,
so... [sighs] ...we're-- we're okay.
356
00:21:53,230 --> 00:21:55,482
Uh, the reason I'm calling you is--
357
00:21:55,566 --> 00:21:58,193
Did-- Did you hear that
the state's investigating Memorial?
358
00:21:58,777 --> 00:22:01,321
No, I didn't hear that.
359
00:22:02,906 --> 00:22:04,324
[Anna] CNN just called me.
360
00:22:04,950 --> 00:22:08,954
They're preparing a report
on possible euthanasia at the hospital.
361
00:22:10,038 --> 00:22:11,790
They want my side of the story.
362
00:22:11,874 --> 00:22:13,125
CNN?
363
00:22:13,125 --> 00:22:14,960
I'm not sure what I should do here.
364
00:22:16,503 --> 00:22:18,797
Well, sit tight, and I'll, um...
365
00:22:18,881 --> 00:22:21,049
I'll have someone from Tenet
give you a call.
366
00:22:21,133 --> 00:22:22,134
Okay?
367
00:22:22,718 --> 00:22:23,802
Okay.
368
00:22:25,804 --> 00:22:27,055
[phone beeps]
369
00:22:29,016 --> 00:22:30,434
[line ringing]
-[sighs]
370
00:22:31,810 --> 00:22:33,937
Yes, uh, Robert, this is Horace.
371
00:22:34,021 --> 00:22:36,440
Have you heard the news
about the hospital?
372
00:22:38,650 --> 00:22:44,656
Yeah, well, it's about my patient,
Elena Batiste.
373
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:47,034
Is she on the list of the dead?
374
00:22:47,910 --> 00:22:48,911
[sighs]
375
00:22:50,245 --> 00:22:51,288
[groans]
376
00:22:52,414 --> 00:22:53,707
[sighs]
377
00:22:53,707 --> 00:22:56,210
I admitted her as a precaution.
378
00:22:57,044 --> 00:22:58,462
Before the storm.
379
00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:01,882
Because she was on electrical equipment.
380
00:23:02,799 --> 00:23:06,678
She wasn't in any kind
of terminal distress. None.
381
00:23:07,304 --> 00:23:13,101
Look, after I left, wasn't Dr. Nadler
in charge of her care-- [sighs]
382
00:23:14,102 --> 00:23:16,522
Well, then who was handling her care?
383
00:23:19,399 --> 00:23:21,235
Well, then who does know?
384
00:23:32,913 --> 00:23:34,122
[sighs deeply]
385
00:23:38,043 --> 00:23:39,127
[line ringing]
386
00:23:39,211 --> 00:23:41,213
Hello. [sighs]
-Ewing, it's Anna.
387
00:23:41,213 --> 00:23:43,507
Oh, Anna. You okay?
-Where are you?
388
00:23:43,507 --> 00:23:46,468
Well, I have decamped
to a hotel in Houston.
389
00:23:46,552 --> 00:23:50,055
My room has a wonderful view
of the highway and an auto mall.
390
00:23:50,806 --> 00:23:53,725
Did you know that state's
looking into what happened at Memorial?
391
00:23:53,809 --> 00:23:55,018
Have they contacted you?
392
00:23:55,102 --> 00:23:57,604
No, state hasn't,
but the media certainly has.
393
00:23:57,688 --> 00:24:00,148
Was it CNN?
They want me to do an interview.
394
00:24:00,232 --> 00:24:01,233
[Ewing] Yes. [sighs]
395
00:24:01,233 --> 00:24:05,612
CNN is looking for me also, but I don't
want nothing to do with those people.
396
00:24:05,696 --> 00:24:06,738
Look-- [stammers]
397
00:24:06,822 --> 00:24:10,492
The issue we're dealing with here
when it comes to medical ethics,
398
00:24:10,576 --> 00:24:12,286
people have opinions all over the map
399
00:24:12,286 --> 00:24:14,121
and I don't wanna be stuck
in the middle of it.
400
00:24:14,121 --> 00:24:15,706
Then what do you suggest I do here?
401
00:24:15,706 --> 00:24:17,875
Oh, I'm not the person to ask.
402
00:24:18,917 --> 00:24:22,004
But if it was me, I'd talk to Tenet.
403
00:24:22,004 --> 00:24:25,007
What I would not do
is talk to those media people.
404
00:24:25,674 --> 00:24:29,970
Couple of edits, they can make you
sound however they want. [sighs]
405
00:24:29,970 --> 00:24:31,513
That's exactly right.
406
00:24:31,597 --> 00:24:35,100
Hide. That's my advice. Hide.
407
00:24:37,102 --> 00:24:38,145
[phone beeps]
408
00:24:44,902 --> 00:24:47,654
Hey, are you Tiana Colburn?
409
00:24:47,738 --> 00:24:49,114
And you are?
410
00:24:49,198 --> 00:24:52,201
Arthur Schafer,
with the State Medicaid Fraud Unit.
411
00:24:53,577 --> 00:24:54,620
How'd you find me?
412
00:24:54,620 --> 00:24:58,415
Uh, your neighbor down the block
said you're up here at your mom's.
413
00:24:58,415 --> 00:25:00,751
[stammers]
You know, this block, the red door.
414
00:25:02,044 --> 00:25:04,004
Uh, man, I'm sorry about all this.
415
00:25:04,963 --> 00:25:06,465
Man, it's all her stuff.
416
00:25:07,382 --> 00:25:08,634
You know, her whole life.
417
00:25:09,259 --> 00:25:10,260
Man, it's terrible.
418
00:25:11,553 --> 00:25:14,890
Well... [inhales deeply]
...I guess as long as we all safe.
419
00:25:15,974 --> 00:25:17,684
Can I ask you a few questions?
420
00:25:18,852 --> 00:25:20,103
Sure. Okay.
421
00:25:20,187 --> 00:25:22,064
You're a nurse at Memorial?
422
00:25:22,064 --> 00:25:25,025
I am. Well, I mean I was
before the hospital closed.
423
00:25:25,025 --> 00:25:26,944
Now, did you work with Dr. Anna Pou?
424
00:25:27,778 --> 00:25:30,531
I'm a surgical nurse
so I did a lot of her surgeries, yeah.
425
00:25:30,531 --> 00:25:32,574
Right. Were you with her, you know,
426
00:25:32,658 --> 00:25:35,244
working with her
after the hospital flooded?
427
00:25:36,078 --> 00:25:39,206
At first, but then I left.
Which was not my plan.
428
00:25:39,206 --> 00:25:43,585
Uh, I was helping one of the neonates
and, uh, ended up in a helicopter.
429
00:25:43,669 --> 00:25:44,753
Wait, you--
430
00:25:45,754 --> 00:25:47,881
I saw you on the news.
431
00:25:47,965 --> 00:25:50,050
You saved that baby. That was you.
432
00:25:50,050 --> 00:25:51,635
Oh, yeah. That was me.
433
00:25:51,635 --> 00:25:53,929
[chuckles] That was heroic.
434
00:25:53,929 --> 00:25:56,682
Nah-- [scoffs]
I just did what anybody would do.
435
00:25:56,682 --> 00:25:59,101
No, no, no, no.
That was special what you did.
436
00:26:00,018 --> 00:26:01,228
Thank you.
437
00:26:01,228 --> 00:26:03,105
[breathes heavily]
438
00:26:04,231 --> 00:26:06,358
Sorry. Um...
439
00:26:06,358 --> 00:26:11,488
My daughter died recently
on account of, uh--
440
00:26:11,572 --> 00:26:15,701
The doctors who cared for her
had overprescribed her medications.
441
00:26:19,288 --> 00:26:22,416
I'm-- I'm sorry. That's-- That's terrible.
442
00:26:22,416 --> 00:26:24,501
Yeah, I guess
I can't help but thinking that if--
443
00:26:24,585 --> 00:26:28,797
that if her doctors were more like you,
she'd be alive right now. [sniffs]
444
00:26:33,802 --> 00:26:35,762
[Anna] I wrote Mr. Miller
a new prescription.
445
00:26:35,846 --> 00:26:38,891
So if there are any changes
in his condition,
446
00:26:38,891 --> 00:26:41,768
will you please let me know, okay?
And just call my cell.
447
00:26:41,852 --> 00:26:43,896
Excuse me.
-[cell phone ringing]
448
00:26:46,190 --> 00:26:48,609
Hello?
-[caller] Hello. Is this Dr. Pou?
449
00:26:48,609 --> 00:26:50,777
Yes.
-This is Steven Campanini.
450
00:26:50,861 --> 00:26:53,071
I'm the communication director for Tenet.
451
00:26:53,155 --> 00:26:55,157
Are you anywhere near a landline?
452
00:26:56,408 --> 00:26:58,493
Uh, I can go to my office.
453
00:26:58,577 --> 00:27:02,247
[Steven] Uh, please. And call me back.
My number should be on your screen.
454
00:27:02,998 --> 00:27:06,460
[phone beeping]
455
00:27:06,460 --> 00:27:08,420
[line ringing]
456
00:27:08,504 --> 00:27:11,006
[Steven] Dr. Pou.
-[chuckles] I'm on a landline.
457
00:27:11,006 --> 00:27:13,634
Hang on a minute.
I've got our assistant general counsel,
458
00:27:13,634 --> 00:27:15,844
Audrey Andrews, on the line with me.
459
00:27:15,928 --> 00:27:17,095
Hello, Dr. Pou.
460
00:27:17,179 --> 00:27:20,682
[sighs] Hello. [chuckles]
Thank you for getting in touch.
461
00:27:20,766 --> 00:27:21,850
[Audrey] Of course.
462
00:27:22,851 --> 00:27:27,689
Um, I understand the events at Memorial
are under investigation.
463
00:27:27,773 --> 00:27:29,149
[Audrey] Yes, that's right.
464
00:27:29,900 --> 00:27:32,945
[sighs] I was hoping for some
guidance and advice.
465
00:27:33,862 --> 00:27:38,325
Dr. Pou, it would be very helpful
if you could, from your perspective,
466
00:27:38,325 --> 00:27:40,077
walk us through the events
at the hospital.
467
00:27:40,077 --> 00:27:42,496
Starting from when the hurricane hit.
468
00:27:44,331 --> 00:27:45,666
[cries]
469
00:27:47,334 --> 00:27:49,169
Sure, um...
470
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:53,257
[exhales deeply]
471
00:27:54,007 --> 00:28:00,013
So, we were-- we were struggling
to provide patient care, you know?
472
00:28:00,764 --> 00:28:04,518
There was, uh, only emergency power,
you know.
473
00:28:04,518 --> 00:28:09,273
There was no air-conditioning.
I can't even tell you how terrible.
474
00:28:09,273 --> 00:28:10,357
It was...
475
00:28:20,325 --> 00:28:23,662
By the end, there was just chaos.
476
00:28:23,662 --> 00:28:26,164
We were under mandatory evacuation.
477
00:28:26,248 --> 00:28:28,876
Um, everyone was scrambling to get out.
478
00:28:28,876 --> 00:28:32,921
[Audrey] Dr. Pou, I want to zero in
a little more specifically on
479
00:28:33,005 --> 00:28:35,716
what happened on that fifth and final day.
480
00:28:40,137 --> 00:28:42,347
[sighs] Well, before we do that...
481
00:28:43,307 --> 00:28:46,602
[sniffs] ...I was wondering
if you could explain
482
00:28:46,602 --> 00:28:49,897
how you're gonna be
providing for my defense.
483
00:28:50,772 --> 00:28:52,357
You know, if it comes to that.
484
00:28:53,192 --> 00:28:55,944
[Audrey] I can't give you any advice
on your representation.
485
00:28:56,570 --> 00:28:57,613
Excuse me.
486
00:28:59,031 --> 00:29:02,242
[Audrey] I work for Tenet.
Not for any of the individual doctors.
487
00:29:03,744 --> 00:29:06,705
In fact, I'd strongly advise you
to get your own attorney.
488
00:29:07,372 --> 00:29:10,375
Okay, now getting back to that morning,
Thursday--
489
00:29:10,459 --> 00:29:12,294
No. [chuckles]
490
00:29:12,294 --> 00:29:14,171
No, I-- [sighs]
491
00:29:14,171 --> 00:29:16,256
I'm not gonna answer
any more of your questions
492
00:29:16,340 --> 00:29:18,759
before I get my own lawyers. Goodbye.
493
00:29:27,809 --> 00:29:30,521
[Anna] So, what happens next?
What do we do here?
494
00:29:30,521 --> 00:29:35,317
[Simmons] Well, in New Orleans, it's
a city, but really it's just a small town.
495
00:29:36,527 --> 00:29:39,446
Everything you say and do is gonna
be observed and picked over.
496
00:29:39,530 --> 00:29:42,824
You can't be talking to anybody
about what went on.
497
00:29:42,908 --> 00:29:45,661
All right? Certainly not the media.
No more interviews--
498
00:29:45,661 --> 00:29:47,704
I don't want to do any more interviews.
499
00:29:47,788 --> 00:29:49,748
And even your husband, um, Vince?
500
00:29:49,748 --> 00:29:51,166
Yes, Vince.
501
00:29:51,250 --> 00:29:53,627
Even Vince is gonna have to
be kept in the dark a little bit here.
502
00:29:53,627 --> 00:29:58,173
What you and I talk about
is gonna just be between you and me.
503
00:29:59,842 --> 00:30:00,843
Understood.
504
00:30:01,677 --> 00:30:02,678
Um.
505
00:30:03,470 --> 00:30:07,975
Look, I just want you to know one thing
before we go any further.
506
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:09,935
I didn't do anything wrong.
507
00:30:09,935 --> 00:30:12,479
No, I know. I know that.
I know that. I-- [sighs]
508
00:30:14,189 --> 00:30:15,732
I-- I knew of your dad.
509
00:30:15,816 --> 00:30:19,403
He was, uh... [sighs]
...he was an excellent doctor.
510
00:30:19,403 --> 00:30:23,657
No, listen, your reputation is impeccable.
511
00:30:23,657 --> 00:30:26,410
So what do we do? Just sit around
and wait until it's ruined?
512
00:30:26,410 --> 00:30:28,954
No, we're not just gonna
sit back on defense here.
513
00:30:29,621 --> 00:30:31,248
[Anna] Meaning?
-Leave that to me.
514
00:30:31,915 --> 00:30:33,750
For now, I don't want you to worry.
515
00:30:34,543 --> 00:30:38,046
I mean, I know you're gonna worry,
but, I promise you, Anna,
516
00:30:38,797 --> 00:30:40,257
I am gonna take care of you.
517
00:30:46,346 --> 00:30:48,682
[Butch] I'm curious, Mrs. Robichaux,
518
00:30:48,682 --> 00:30:51,518
why the LifeCare lawyers
wanted you to talk to us.
519
00:30:51,602 --> 00:30:53,812
Because I believe...
520
00:30:55,105 --> 00:30:59,568
what happened-- what you're looking into,
those deaths...
521
00:31:01,778 --> 00:31:03,113
they weren't accidental.
522
00:31:04,907 --> 00:31:06,658
Do you want to tell us what happened?
523
00:31:08,827 --> 00:31:11,330
Well, first of all...
524
00:31:12,873 --> 00:31:14,917
the conditions in the hospital were, uh...
525
00:31:16,335 --> 00:31:17,377
horrible.
526
00:31:19,588 --> 00:31:23,008
I mean, just beyond belief.
527
00:31:24,218 --> 00:31:25,761
It was chaos.
528
00:31:25,761 --> 00:31:28,388
You know, nobody knew what was going on.
529
00:31:30,682 --> 00:31:32,601
There was no power for two days.
530
00:31:34,102 --> 00:31:35,270
It was dark.
531
00:31:36,438 --> 00:31:39,608
The air was-- was like a furnace.
532
00:31:40,692 --> 00:31:42,945
The stench of death was everywhere.
533
00:31:46,698 --> 00:31:48,200
Especially on the last day.
534
00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:50,410
[breathing heavily]
535
00:31:50,494 --> 00:31:53,455
I was called up to a meeting at LifeCare.
536
00:31:53,539 --> 00:31:55,916
[Susan] We're getting all the patients out
that we can.
537
00:31:55,916 --> 00:31:58,836
So, is-- Some people are not getting out?
538
00:31:58,836 --> 00:32:03,006
The plan is
to not leave any living patients behind.
539
00:32:04,716 --> 00:32:06,301
[grunting]
540
00:32:06,385 --> 00:32:08,470
What about Emmett Everett?
541
00:32:09,304 --> 00:32:10,722
He's one of our patients.
542
00:32:11,431 --> 00:32:13,183
He's awake. He's alert.
543
00:32:13,267 --> 00:32:16,854
I'm not familiar with all your patients.
That's Dr. Pou.
544
00:32:16,854 --> 00:32:18,063
You should ask her.
545
00:32:19,022 --> 00:32:21,233
So I went over and I talked to Dr. Pou.
546
00:32:21,233 --> 00:32:22,693
Excuse me. I'm Diane Robichaux.
547
00:32:22,693 --> 00:32:24,611
I run LifeCare here at this facility.
-Hi.
548
00:32:24,695 --> 00:32:26,947
We were talking about Emmett.
549
00:32:26,947 --> 00:32:29,366
He's paralyzed. Weighs, what, 380 pounds?
550
00:32:29,366 --> 00:32:30,659
About.
551
00:32:30,659 --> 00:32:32,411
Yeah, how's he holding up?
552
00:32:32,411 --> 00:32:35,038
Um, he's conscious and aware,
if that's what you mean.
553
00:32:36,707 --> 00:32:39,293
I didn't realize any of the patients
were aware.
554
00:32:40,252 --> 00:32:41,378
Yes.
555
00:32:41,378 --> 00:32:43,630
How many people do you think
it would take to move him?
556
00:32:43,714 --> 00:32:46,675
[swallows] I-- I don't know.
I have no idea.
557
00:32:46,675 --> 00:32:49,845
We'd have to go down the stairs.
That's seven flights in the dark.
558
00:32:49,845 --> 00:32:52,514
Across the hospital,
through the hole in the machine room.
559
00:32:52,598 --> 00:32:55,267
And, frankly,
I don't even know if he would fit.
560
00:32:55,267 --> 00:32:57,978
Then he'd be driven up to the top
to the parking garage
561
00:32:57,978 --> 00:32:59,897
and carried up the narrow steps
to the helipad.
562
00:32:59,897 --> 00:33:02,399
Well-- [stammers]
I'm sure there's a way to do it.
563
00:33:02,399 --> 00:33:04,443
It has been a struggle...
564
00:33:05,736 --> 00:33:07,905
with people far easier to manage.
565
00:33:08,906 --> 00:33:10,282
I'm sorry, wh--
566
00:33:10,991 --> 00:33:12,868
So, what are we talking about?
567
00:33:13,660 --> 00:33:14,745
She said...
568
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:23,670
"Some of these patients,
they're just not gonna survive."
569
00:33:27,174 --> 00:33:29,968
Did Dr. Pou mean
she was gonna euthanize him?
570
00:33:33,305 --> 00:33:35,557
The word "euthanize" was never used,
571
00:33:37,017 --> 00:33:41,855
but I'm fairly certain
that's what happened to him in the end.
572
00:33:43,815 --> 00:33:46,527
Did Dr. Pou--
Did she say what her plan was?
573
00:33:47,611 --> 00:33:50,113
She pulled me aside
to let me off the hook.
574
00:33:50,197 --> 00:33:52,282
I'm taking full responsibility
for all this.
575
00:33:52,366 --> 00:33:55,285
I don't want anybody
worrying about losing their license.
576
00:33:56,578 --> 00:33:58,247
As if that's what I cared about.
577
00:34:00,582 --> 00:34:01,917
What happened then?
578
00:34:02,543 --> 00:34:07,339
Uh, we turned the floor over to Pou
and the two nurses she had with her.
579
00:34:07,339 --> 00:34:09,591
Do you know who they were,
these two nurses?
580
00:34:11,342 --> 00:34:12,553
[cries] No.
581
00:34:15,054 --> 00:34:16,473
I didn't even know 'em.
582
00:34:22,437 --> 00:34:23,438
[sniffs]
583
00:34:24,940 --> 00:34:28,485
I believe in my heart
that my patients were killed.
584
00:34:30,737 --> 00:34:33,782
And even though
I didn't participate in it...
585
00:34:37,034 --> 00:34:39,161
I didn't do enough to stop it. [sobs]
586
00:34:42,165 --> 00:34:43,750
[Virginia] So, what do you think?
587
00:34:43,750 --> 00:34:46,837
What I think is that she didn't actually
hear anybody
588
00:34:46,837 --> 00:34:48,797
directing patients to be euthanized.
589
00:34:48,797 --> 00:34:50,966
Could just be a case of misunderstanding.
590
00:34:51,550 --> 00:34:53,510
Look, given the dire circumstances,
591
00:34:53,594 --> 00:34:57,054
it seems likely that these
critical care patients had just died.
592
00:34:57,139 --> 00:34:59,892
Or at the very worst,
misprescribed medications.
593
00:34:59,892 --> 00:35:04,813
I just can't believe that the staff
would intentionally kill patients.
594
00:35:04,897 --> 00:35:06,315
I just can't fathom that.
595
00:35:06,315 --> 00:35:07,399
Me either.
596
00:35:08,734 --> 00:35:10,444
We need to talk to some more people
at LifeCare.
597
00:35:10,444 --> 00:35:12,404
Get a better handle on what happened.
598
00:35:13,030 --> 00:35:14,573
See what I can set up.
599
00:35:20,913 --> 00:35:22,289
[nurse]
PP is steady. [speaks indistinctly]
600
00:35:22,289 --> 00:35:24,333
[Anna] More inferior exposure, please.
601
00:35:25,417 --> 00:35:26,793
[nurse] Yes, Dr. Pou.
-Thank you.
602
00:35:27,294 --> 00:35:30,297
Significant adenopathy.
Those nodes are gonna have to go too.
603
00:35:31,006 --> 00:35:32,007
[nurse] Noted.
604
00:35:37,721 --> 00:35:38,931
Wake up, Allyson.
605
00:35:41,892 --> 00:35:42,893
Wake up.
606
00:35:46,647 --> 00:35:48,273
Hey. How are you doing?
607
00:35:49,107 --> 00:35:50,234
Hey, Doc.
608
00:35:51,318 --> 00:35:52,361
Hi.
609
00:35:53,028 --> 00:35:55,239
It's good news. We got all of it out.
610
00:35:57,324 --> 00:35:58,492
[chuckles]
611
00:35:58,492 --> 00:36:00,536
We're sending the tissue samples
to pathology,
612
00:36:00,536 --> 00:36:03,497
but I don't think there's any more tumor.
613
00:36:04,623 --> 00:36:05,749
Are you serious?
614
00:36:08,043 --> 00:36:09,503
You're gonna be great.
615
00:36:10,587 --> 00:36:12,256
Is your family out there?
616
00:36:14,883 --> 00:36:17,052
I'll let them know.
-[chuckles]
617
00:36:17,970 --> 00:36:20,180
[no audible dialogue]
618
00:36:26,144 --> 00:36:29,273
[Butch] Um, Ms. Mendez,
you were the nurse executive for LifeCare?
619
00:36:29,273 --> 00:36:31,358
That's right, yes.
620
00:36:31,358 --> 00:36:34,903
[Virginia] Let's jump right to
the morning of Thursday, September 1st.
621
00:36:34,987 --> 00:36:37,489
That was your last day
at the hospital, right?
622
00:36:37,573 --> 00:36:38,949
Yes, it was.
623
00:36:38,949 --> 00:36:40,993
What do you remember about that day?
624
00:36:42,870 --> 00:36:44,413
[helicopters whirring]
625
00:36:44,413 --> 00:36:45,914
Um, the helicopters.
626
00:36:45,998 --> 00:36:48,750
[whirring continues]
627
00:36:48,834 --> 00:36:50,085
And the smell.
628
00:36:50,169 --> 00:36:52,921
The fumes from the helipad
were wafting inside.
629
00:36:53,922 --> 00:36:55,382
It was overwhelming.
630
00:36:57,259 --> 00:37:01,471
The whole thing reminded me of something
I'd seen on TV once.
631
00:37:02,222 --> 00:37:03,515
What was that?
632
00:37:05,851 --> 00:37:07,060
The Fall of Saigon.
633
00:37:10,147 --> 00:37:13,066
[Butch] Ms. Johnson,
what was your job at LifeCare?
634
00:37:13,150 --> 00:37:15,319
And it's Kristy, yeah, with a "K"?
Is that--
635
00:37:15,319 --> 00:37:18,280
Yes. K-R-I-S-T-Y.
636
00:37:19,198 --> 00:37:22,159
I was the physical medicine director,
which means I supervised
637
00:37:22,159 --> 00:37:24,828
all the rehabilitation
and therapy programs at LifeCare.
638
00:37:24,912 --> 00:37:27,789
Can you tell us
what you remember about that last day,
639
00:37:27,873 --> 00:37:29,333
Thursday, at the hospital?
640
00:37:30,501 --> 00:37:32,544
I remember we had a meeting
with Susan Mulderick
641
00:37:32,628 --> 00:37:35,130
and she was saying she didn't think
the LifeCare patients were gonna make it.
642
00:37:35,214 --> 00:37:36,340
Mulderick said that?
643
00:37:36,924 --> 00:37:38,342
Yes, I think so.
644
00:37:39,301 --> 00:37:40,511
Do you know why?
645
00:37:41,094 --> 00:37:45,057
The conditions were total chaos,
and we were under orders to get out.
646
00:37:45,682 --> 00:37:49,061
Now, my guess is,
I don't know this for a fact,
647
00:37:50,521 --> 00:37:53,398
they didn't want to
leave patients alone and behind
648
00:37:53,482 --> 00:37:57,152
to suffer in a deserted hospital
maybe for days before they died.
649
00:37:58,529 --> 00:38:00,739
So, that morning, what'd you do?
650
00:38:01,657 --> 00:38:03,367
The first thing I always did.
651
00:38:04,409 --> 00:38:07,287
Go check on the patients.
652
00:38:07,371 --> 00:38:11,917
[breathing heavily]
653
00:38:11,917 --> 00:38:13,627
They looked bad.
654
00:38:14,503 --> 00:38:16,004
Some were unconscious and...
655
00:38:16,088 --> 00:38:17,381
[patient groans]
656
00:38:17,381 --> 00:38:19,550
...others were frothing at the mouth.
657
00:38:19,550 --> 00:38:21,844
[wheezing]
658
00:38:21,844 --> 00:38:25,097
Some were breathing
the way you breath before you die.
659
00:38:25,097 --> 00:38:27,558
[wheezing]
660
00:38:27,558 --> 00:38:29,226
[Kristy] There was no food.
661
00:38:29,226 --> 00:38:30,769
No fresh water.
662
00:38:32,646 --> 00:38:34,398
People were just trying to get out.
663
00:38:34,398 --> 00:38:36,733
One. Can anybody take one?
664
00:38:36,817 --> 00:38:39,403
I was helping
one of my patient's daughters,
665
00:38:39,403 --> 00:38:41,196
Angela McManus, get onto a boat.
666
00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:44,449
You need to get yourself somewhere safe
for your mother, okay?
667
00:38:44,992 --> 00:38:46,702
You need to survive for her.
668
00:38:46,702 --> 00:38:48,287
That's when Dr. Pou came over...
669
00:38:48,287 --> 00:38:49,496
These patients...
670
00:38:51,915 --> 00:38:53,500
they're probably not gonna survive.
671
00:38:57,629 --> 00:39:00,424
I'm amazed we've kept
the sickest ones alive for this long.
672
00:39:03,802 --> 00:39:07,181
The decision's been made
to administer lethal doses.
673
00:39:08,182 --> 00:39:10,267
[Virginia]
Did she say specifically what drugs?
674
00:39:10,851 --> 00:39:13,729
She listed them off,
but I was so shocked, I...
675
00:39:16,190 --> 00:39:19,526
[stammers] I asked her to repeat them
and she repeated them and--
676
00:39:20,235 --> 00:39:21,320
Now, I don't--
677
00:39:22,613 --> 00:39:24,239
Morphine was one of them.
678
00:39:31,496 --> 00:39:32,789
What happened after that?
679
00:39:33,540 --> 00:39:35,751
I heard Therese Mendez calling my name.
680
00:39:37,294 --> 00:39:38,504
She sounded really upset.
681
00:39:38,504 --> 00:39:41,507
Kristy. Kristy, Kristy, come on.
We got to go back.
682
00:39:41,507 --> 00:39:43,383
[panting]
683
00:39:43,467 --> 00:39:46,386
[Kristy] We went to Emmett Everett's room
because that's where Dr. Pou was.
684
00:39:46,470 --> 00:39:51,308
[breathing heavily]
685
00:39:58,941 --> 00:40:01,193
There's no way we can get him out.
686
00:40:02,319 --> 00:40:03,695
[Virginia] What happened then?
687
00:40:04,530 --> 00:40:06,406
She wanted somebody to sedate him.
688
00:40:06,490 --> 00:40:08,116
You-- You heard her say that?
689
00:40:08,951 --> 00:40:11,662
Pou asked for someone to sedate him?
690
00:40:15,916 --> 00:40:17,084
[Butch] Ms. Johnson.
691
00:40:20,337 --> 00:40:21,421
She might have.
692
00:40:21,505 --> 00:40:25,175
I'm not sure if I heard it
directly from her or from somebody else.
693
00:40:25,259 --> 00:40:26,885
But I did hear her say,
694
00:40:26,969 --> 00:40:31,181
"Y'all need to be evacuated.
The patients are in our care now."
695
00:40:31,723 --> 00:40:34,768
Did you see her do anything
to any of your patients?
696
00:40:37,604 --> 00:40:40,107
When I was leaving,
I saw her walking down the hall.
697
00:40:40,107 --> 00:40:42,442
She looked really nervous to me.
698
00:40:43,068 --> 00:40:44,695
She was with these two nurses.
699
00:40:46,572 --> 00:40:49,575
[Virginia] Did you see her administer
drugs to any of the patients?
700
00:40:53,871 --> 00:40:55,122
[cries]
701
00:40:55,122 --> 00:40:57,124
Did you see anything else?
702
00:40:59,793 --> 00:41:00,794
No.
703
00:41:02,921 --> 00:41:04,173
We left.
704
00:41:14,933 --> 00:41:18,312
[Butch] Mr. Nakamaru,
as the pharmacist on that last day,
705
00:41:18,312 --> 00:41:20,981
did Dr. Pou tell you
what the plan was gonna be?
706
00:41:25,402 --> 00:41:29,615
She told me patients
would be given lethal doses.
707
00:41:30,574 --> 00:41:33,994
You heard her say that,
"Lethal doses would be given"?
708
00:41:33,994 --> 00:41:35,162
Those exact words.
709
00:41:36,830 --> 00:41:38,290
That's my recollection.
710
00:41:38,290 --> 00:41:39,833
What happened then?
711
00:41:42,336 --> 00:41:46,215
I asked her what kind of medications
she would give the patients.
712
00:41:47,007 --> 00:41:49,885
She then showed me
vials of morphine and Versed,
713
00:41:49,885 --> 00:41:52,429
which is a surgical sedative.
714
00:41:53,514 --> 00:41:55,516
She asked me for supplies,
715
00:41:55,516 --> 00:41:58,602
including syringes
and vials of sterile salt water.
716
00:41:59,978 --> 00:42:01,480
[Virginia] Sterile salt water?
717
00:42:02,564 --> 00:42:05,234
It's what we used to chase drugs
through intravenous catheters
718
00:42:05,234 --> 00:42:06,777
into patient's bloodstreams.
719
00:42:07,444 --> 00:42:10,948
So, as a pharmacist,
did you give her the stuff she requested?
720
00:42:11,657 --> 00:42:13,408
[Ken] Yes, I did.
721
00:42:16,537 --> 00:42:19,498
Well, did you see her, or the nurses,
administer the drugs?
722
00:42:20,916 --> 00:42:24,086
[breathing shakily]
723
00:42:28,674 --> 00:42:31,802
[Ken] I saw them draw up
the drugs into syringes.
724
00:42:34,972 --> 00:42:37,975
But I didn't see them actually
inject the patients. No.
725
00:42:37,975 --> 00:42:39,518
Did you see anything else?
726
00:42:41,687 --> 00:42:44,439
Yeah, afterwards.
727
00:42:46,149 --> 00:42:49,444
I saw Dr. Pou
coming out of one of the rooms.
728
00:42:49,528 --> 00:42:53,615
She had put the syringes
in a clear plastic waste bag.
729
00:42:53,699 --> 00:42:54,741
[syringes clatter]
730
00:42:57,244 --> 00:42:58,745
Then Pou asked me something.
731
00:42:59,705 --> 00:43:01,081
What was that?
732
00:43:03,917 --> 00:43:06,837
She asked me to check on the patients...
733
00:43:08,922 --> 00:43:11,175
and pull the sheets
over the ones who had died.
734
00:43:15,929 --> 00:43:17,389
You believe...
735
00:43:18,390 --> 00:43:22,519
In my opinion, there's no other conclusion
you could draw.
736
00:43:26,273 --> 00:43:27,774
Those patients were murdered.
737
00:43:33,655 --> 00:43:35,407
[sniffles, sighs]