Doctors worry 'Five Days at Memorial' may not tell the true story

The author says in the production notes, that she hopes knowing what happened might help with future planning, and avert a similar crisis in the future.

[michelebcombs]

I saw this reenactment of 5 day at memorial. My heart went out to everyone involved, the patients, medical staff and the family members of the deceased. I understand everyone's side. I thank God that I didn't have to make the decision!

[krapeevids]

I’m genuinely ashamed of myself for not realizing just how bad this is was.
I remember the news talking about how bad it was but sadly I’ll admit I didn’t give it too much attention.
Watching this mini series was very eye opening and absolutely heartbreaking.
I’m so sorry those poor people had to go through this. This country had the resources to take care of each and everyone of those people but for whatever reason these people were just left to suffer and die.

[LaFermedelaGoursaline]

Pretty unthinkable to sue those people when it should be the authorities who should respond for their negligence…

[survivor]

Whoever was at Memorial Hospital during and after Hurricane Katrina doesn't want to talk about it. They're not going to say anything that could incriminate themselves. Even if they know they're innocent. R.I.P to everyone who died that day.🇺🇸😥🙏

[aliciablanda]

Read the book and watched the first 4 episodes. Tenet and LifeCare abandoned their patients and staff. Did the corporations face criminal charges?

[tiffanylynch]

Why didn’t they talk more about how the guard came in a forced everyone out that could get out, forcing them to leave .. they were going to just leave the sick behind .. that’s inhumane !! Suffering a long long painful death for 5 days, no water, no food, heat, living in your own urine .. that is not humane !! The doctors did what they had to do so they wouldn’t suffer .

[carilei]

What I don't understand is, national guard/police were there at some point and ordered evacuation. They were upstairs and forcing people downstairs.... but they just left behind Emmett and the other patients? They didn't try to move him? Why weren't the police arrested for neglect and murder too??

[agoodgurlk]

It was probably like being in a war zone... Staff and patients on their own with no relief.

[kzhemh]

It comes down to the hospital not being prepared because nothing of this scope had every happened before. it reminds me of 9/11. No one was prepared for that because no terror attack of that scale had ever happened before. If you want to blame someone, blame the builders and managers of the broken levees. Blame the people who were stupid enough to build an entire city below sea level. if the levee hadn't broken, everyone at the hospital (as well as thousands of people affected by the broken levees) would have been fine. If the city hadn't have been built below sea level, none of this would have happened. The people working at this hospital and their patients were simply victims of this horrible tragedy that could have been prevented if people hadn't been arrogant enough to think they could defy Mother Nature.

[maluinthes]

Honestly, unless you were there, you don't know. I don't know, but if they did knowingly give a fatal dose of morphine with midazolam or lorazepam to patients in critical care who we're going to die anyways, I understand. It would have been cruel to let them suffer.

[ericjimagonos]

There is something wrong with their corporations. I watched the series, there are some private institutions wanted to help Memorial airlifting patients and staffs but they rejected it and insist it was the task of National Coastguards. WTF? In that crisis, you need alot of help you can get to save those people. Don't blame those doctors or nurses, if only help were consistent from their tenet, corporates or government, they will not end up deciding to do what is morally and ethically right for them. And i feel sorry for the dog, Rolfie.

[myshirt]

Nobody is gonna snitch on themselves bro, only god knows what really happened in there.

[breeward]

If anyone should be charged it should've been the federal government for the lack of urgency and aid to those affected by the storm!!

[zeitgeistx]

Lol you people might want to actually go to nursing school or medical school and see what the training is for disaster triage. We are trained to ration resources to save the most lives. Hospitals like this one are not the government and are private entities. People blame hospitals for what politicians should be regulating. All hospitals have be public with government guidelines which we don’t have.

[alyssapeters]

I am loving the show. Even though I didn't survive Katrina, I did survive Erin & Opal while living in Destin, FL in the late 90's. Opal was very devastating and it was very traumatic evacuating at the last minute due to the storm gaining strength so quickly. This show is being back alot of those emotions and I truly am having a difficult time watching it. I truly empathize with everyone who has ever survived any Category 5 storm. I don't wish it on anyone. This is a great show and I look forward to watching the rest of it.

[midaztouch]

Just saw finished the series. It was very well done done but I think it was biased against the defendants. Then again, I’m biased too since I’m a doctor. I’m not sure how many people out there have had to move heavy patients but it’s not easy. I’ve been a doctor for 20 years and was an EMT in Chicago before that. That said, I’d like to think that I would have tried everything to bring Emmet downstairs to a boat. I wasn’t there though. I can’t imagine the stress, exhaustion, confusion, fear, heat, stench, frustration, etc. So I won’t judge as many have been doing. I also don’t judge the doctor who bailed (Dr. King) and then turned around and accused the other doctors who stayed of being murderers. I don’t know what he experienced. I’d like to think I would have stayed but unless you’ve been put in that position, you can never know for sure. Finally, the prosecutors felt they did what they had to do. It wasn’t good for anyone. They were all in tough spots and I’m thankful that I had nothing to do with it. Anyways, it was a good show.

ps: just so you all know, the drug combo of morphine and versed isn’t some crazy , off-limits combo that equals certain death. I VERY frequently give patients a similar combo of fentanyl (much more potent) and versed. Literally almost every single day. If you’ve had a colonoscopy, there’s a good chance you were given that drug combo too. So it’s not necessarily the combo that’s dangerous (although they act synergistically), it’s the dosages.

[seiboikypz]

i have no details about the documentary but as far as i am concern with the series, the higher authority is to be blame for the unfortunate event. why should someone chose to let the patient suffer when there is no hope at all. After all why would they call evacuation knowingly, given the critical circumstance without any aid.

[lavoixdevelours]

It wasn't easy to find out what happened to Memorial Medical Center in the years after. It was bought out and the name changed to Ochsner Baptist. I figured they would change the name to try to get rid of the reputation.

[kristiank]

if what the series says is true then she injected emmet with a lethal cocktail while tellinng him it was ‘something for his dizzyness’? thats murder. straight up. if she had asked him if he wanted to die and he said yes, then it would have been euthanasia. but she deceived him and took his life against his will (if the docu is true), hence murder.

[SpiritualDivine]

Just watched the last episode of "5 days at Memorial", it was SO good!! My heart breaks for Emmett & others who passed though :( I'd hate to see what happens in other places if this happens again. Very very sad.