Comments on: No Way Out

A Couple Faces Life In Prison After 35 People Die In Their Care

[admrilbubba]

I just watched the program and I am angered! I worked in a similar environment and what the owners said was to gain sympathy from those who don%u2019t know. First they were owners I doubt they changed bed pans, diapers, or bed linen full of urine and feces. Second they made an annual contract with families, county authorities, and JACO or any another licensing authority when they wrote up their evacuation plan, then lied about it. They were obligated to follow that EVAC plan when a hurricane was coming; they lied when they didn%u2019t follow it. They also lied saying they would have to decide who to let die when unplugging life support. How many really were on life support? If any one was on life support they had to be listed in the EVAC Plan as a patient that had extra needs. Life support ambulances are available; they were required to know the phone number for those extra needs. When you own a place like a nursing home or adult care (foster) home you have responsibilities to many people, you must be able to make designs and not rely on a government agency for those decisions. However they did make the decision, it was in the EVAC plan. The families should have asked the point blank question; when, were and how will my family member be moved. Bottom line, the owners knew they were in a bad area for a hurricane and it%u2019s after math. They had an EVAC plan to follow! They were responsible for what took place because they didn%u2019t follow the rules!

[admrilbubba]

They assumed that evacuation would take place because of they EVAC plan. This is how tragedies like this happening, assuming the home will do right. Let us not forget the social workers who are assigned to each patient? Oh yea, they have too big of a case load, yes I%u2019ve heard it before!

[admrilbubba]

They assumed that evacuation would take place because of they EVAC plan. This is how tragedies like this happening, assuming the home will do right. Let us not forget the social workers who are assigned to each patient? Oh yea, they have too big of a case load, yes I%u2019ve heard it before!

[admrilbubba]

They assumed that evacuation would take place because of they EVAC plan. This is how tragedies like this happening, assuming the home will do right. Let us not forget the social workers who are assigned to each patient? Oh yea, they have too big of a case load, yes I%u2019ve heard it before!

[admrilbubba]

They assumed that evacuation would take place because of they EVAC plan. This is how tragedies like this happening, assuming the home will do right. Let us not forget the social workers who are assigned to each patient? Oh yea, they have too big of a case load, yes I%u2019ve heard it before!

[drummers4]

I am dumbfounded. I cannot believe that this story even exists. It was a Natural Disaster and they did the best that they knew how. They are after all people too, and elderly at that. Noone expected it to be the way that it was. Are there not enough other cases to use the tax peoples money on. I would be very embarrassed and ashamed if I was that Prosecutor, I would fire her. The finger gets pointed at them and they point it back at a couple who STAYED also...They were just meant to get out. Where or where were the Families of these people if they were so concerned. Yes they have a duty , but how far does that duty go. They were not children and they were not Babies, I just cannot believe that I am even having to have this discussion, It was a Hurricane..... The only people who are leagally obligated to risk lives is the Government, why are they not being Sued. Oh thats right , all the money is going to a War. Snap out of it, it is not always someone fault.

[momofek2]

This story bothers me in many different areas! As a nurse I have been in many different situations heartbreaking and joyful memories. However this also tells me there have been a few of you who have not been in healthcare or even present in a facility such as this one, or you would not be makeing comments that it is the loved ones who were to evacuate their families, if you were to vist a nurseing home you would no that 40% of these residents DO NOT have loveing families to make those decisions for them!! It is 100% up to the people, strangers to make a unselfish desison for their life. These residents did not get that.

[mollyboo635]

One more comment came to mind; Mrs. Mangano said she couldn''t "decide whose plug to pull first". I''m sure she is aware that the ambulance transport service is trained to handle these types of situations and have portable life support. Also, a comment was made by Mr. Mangano something to the effect that had the storm not hit they would have been "heroes". Both of these comments seem a little peculiar and contrived. But then again it is easy for me to pass judgement as I sit here safe and sound in my cozy home. I''m sure that God is more benevolent and forgiving than some believe and we hope and pray that His judgement is mercuful for all of us. I will continue to keep everyone involved in my prayers.

[mollyboo635]

There are many things about this story that bothered me. Yes, I feel for the families; though as the daughter of an 83 year old who lives close by, I can''t imagine me leaving until I personally called an ambulance transport and had him moved. But at the same time I don''t think this absolves the Manganos from the responsibility of attempting to evacuate the facility. Even in as much as networking with other facilities (that did evacuate) to find out what the other facilities were going to do. I believe it was a very autonomous decision. I was also bothered by the fact that part of the evacuation plan included a contract from a bus company owned by Salvador Mangano promising to have two buses at ready in the event of an evacuation. Doesn''t that seem somewhat devious?

[txrrt]

The number one thing ALL health professionals are taught is that PATIENT SAFETY ALWAYS COMES FIRST! The Manganos should have evacuated all the residents BEFORE the hurricane hit land! The fact that the levies did not hold is a WHOLE SEPERATE ISSUE!! Anyone who lives along the Gulf Coast knows that you evacuate when a Category 5 hurricane is heading toward you! The fact that the city officials neglected to call for a "mandatory" evacuation is irrevelant. The Manganos were running a PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITY for Gods sake!! They should not NEED anyone to TELL them that their patient''s safety is at risk in that type of situation! Why do you think every OTHER health care facility had evacuated? All the finger pointing at the U S Army Corp of Engineers can not change the fact that they DID NOT DO THE RIGHT THING! NO ONE should have been in the building during that hurricane!! Too bad I wasn''t on that jury, because I can surely seperate the two issues! GUILTY AS CHARGED!

[ptyshaia]

With no Mandatory evcuation in place the family members were responsible to remove their family member from the home not the caregiver. The caregiver was trying to keep the residents as safe as possible during a bad situation, they did not break the levees.
When visiting New Orleans in May of 2005 we were told that if a storm took a direct hit on New Orleans the levees would break because Nutra Rats had burrowed into the levees weakening them to a state of disrepair and the Government knew of the problem at that time.So if you want to point fingers and lay blame the Army Corps of Eng. may be a beginning. Katrina was the straw that broke the weakened levees.

The families that put their loved ones into a home are not sentencing them to hard time. There is such a thing called "AMA" Against Medical Advice". If you are so worried that someone else will not care for your loved the way you should, then get them the hell out of there on AMA.Speaking as a former EMT, in New Orleans, during Hurricane Andrew (The Big Bad One prior to Katrina)there are only so many ambulances,too many patients and not enough notification hours to possibly evacuate everyone in the time that is allowed in a 24 hour time frame, that is the usual allotted time of a huricane warning situation. As for the woman, that told her father that she was leaving him there at St.Rita''s, while they saved their own ***** , well, she said goodbye to him, and she is the one that has to deal with the father when they meet again on the other side. While an EMT in N.O. I serviced St.Rita''s and found it to be nice a home for the elderly and infirmed,with no resrvations toward the staff or management. This was not a mandatory evacuation required by the Parish,so St.Rita,s had every right to choose to stay . The governments levee protection system killed these unfortunate victims, not the Mangano''s.

[agodthing]

If I have a friend who wants to commit suicide, and I do everything I can to stop it, am I guilty if they find a way of doing it anyway? This couple isn''t guilty, even though they walked away. Fine. But don''t blame the Federal Government for warning them for 75 years, through the Weather Service about a Cat 5 direct hit, and trying to help them anyway with levies. If you sit on a street long enough, a car might hit you.

[clarkinky]

We can all see that this was such a horrible tragedy that should never had happened. The story makes it clear that many parties vested with responsibility did not use it properly (most importantly the St. Bernard Parish Officials, those who maintained and inspected the levies, and even the Army Core of Engineers) and therefore negligence led to such suffering. While my prayers go out to all those who lost loved ones at St. Rita''s and also to the Manganos, I am deeply troubled by the lack of ownership by the leadership of St. Bernard''s Parish and also by those responsible for the poor integrity of the levies. Does anyone know if the court will bring justice to the families and those who lost their lives, by hearing a case against the other parties involved (i.e. St. Bernard officials or the Army Core of Engineers)?

[randsmom1]

I also find it disgusting that family members of those nursing home residents are holding the Manganos responsible. The family members themselves are just as responsible for their loved ones deaths. They were warned of the hurricane and I''ll bet they did everything in their power to save themselves. It is such a shame that they didn''t give their loved ones more thought. If it had been my loved one, I would have made sure they were safe long before I made sure I was.

[cgr260]

Anyone that says the Mangano''s made a difficult decision is ignorant and stupid, they made the best decision for their bottom line. They were concerned about the financial burden of removing their residents, not the well being of their residents.

This story angered perhaps more than any story I have seen on a news magazine show. There were warnings from the local, state and national government to evacuate, other nursing homes in the area with patients who needed an equal amount of critical care were evacuated, buses were offered to the Mangano''s, the Mangano''s told family members of residents that they would evacuate their loved ones, but somehow they made the decision to leave their residents to drown and die a horrible, terrifying death. The Manganos deserve to be rotting in prison.

Think of it this way, if a fire started in the nursing home due to faulty wiring and the Mangano''s did not evacuate the residents and the fire caused fatalities, who is at fault, the contractors that installed the wiring or the Mangano''s???????

Again, the Mangano''s should be rotting in prison!

[rbartos1]

Please pass this message along to the Manganos and please tell the Manganos that we love them and we know that they made the best decision for their residents. I work for a national nursing home company and I know we make hard decisions every day regarding our residents. I know what happened to them is not their fault and it was just a terrible tragedy that happened as a result of the levys breaking. I believe the government was trying to blame somebody for their faults and the Manganos were the prime tagets. Thank you for sharing their story with us. I believe that they did love their residents very much and I think they are hurting just as much about what happened.
Manganos God Bless and I will be saying an extra prayer for you this evening.

Robin Bartos
Cornelius, NC

[lmchambo]

Just FYI. I was from St. Bernard Parish. I knew no one that died at the nursing home presonally, but did know of people who lost loved ones there. Some were on ventilators, bedridden, etc. and had no way of bringing their family members with them. They were promised by the nursing home that they would be evacuated and were lied to.

[aggielas]

I also agree that it''s disgusting that the women actually said she went by the day before and left her own father to fend for himself. She should''ve been prosecuted as well. I''m hoping she didn''t leave her pets behind. I would definitely have taken either of my parents with me as it would give me peace of mind.

[ariddle2]

I find it disgusting that the family members of the people that died in the nursing home are attempting to hold the caregivers responsible. The woman who said that she went by there and told her father good bye and he wanted her to take him with her but she thought him too frail to move on her own- had it been a child in a daycare center he wouldn''t have been left, and having said that, once your parents are in the condition that they must be placed in a home they are your responsiblity as if they were a small child. Shame on you.