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Professional Ethics Case Study: Hurricane Katrina In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States of America. This tropical storm rendered much of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama a flooded wasteland; in particular, Memorial Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana was sequestered by the floods, leaving hundreds of patients, staff, and visitors without vital resources. Electricity was cut off, and the internal temperatures reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, as reported by journalist Sheri Fink (2009). Staff attempted to evacuate the hospital, carrying patients one-by-one down many flights of stairs. Several patients died during this evacuation. In the wake of the flood, it was discovered that 45 patients of Memorial Hospital had perished, and that 23 of these deaths were attributed to a lethal dose of Versed or morphine. Dr Anna Pou, a surgeon on duty during the disaster, was accused of euthanizing these patients during …show more content…
The younger, healthier patients were evacuated from the hospital via helicopters and boats, followed by the older and sicker patients. It was decided that those who were difficult to move, terminally ill, or had previously signed a “do not resuscitate” order were to be evacuated last, leaving Pou and her colleagues with what they may have perceived as two choices: leave their most vulnerable patients to languish in the heat and discomfort of the hospital and let nature take its course, or hasten their deaths with the assistance of powerful narcotics in order to allocate precious resources to people with higher chances of survival. The abandonment of the patients would have presumably caused more pain and anguish than the swift relief of death, and Pou has maintained that she only acted to ease the suffering of her patients and has since worked to pass legislation that decriminalizes physician-administered euthanasia during disasters (Fink,
Pou didn’t stop there she joined the state and national medical organizations on disaster preparedness and legal reform. Dr. Pou even began speaking at national conferences giving lectures on the topic like medical ethics and made arguments for the standard of medical care in emergencies. She explained her reasoning on what she follows during these conferences, and justifies what had happened during the Hurricane Katrina at the Memorial Medical Center. A few later more information on the case was found, and it improved the image of Dr. Pou. In the new information, it was found that she wasn’t the only who had made the decision to give the patients
During the time of chaos and confusion, doctors are expected to find the best solution for the patients. As a consequence, the staff chooses to kill the patients “calmly” to reduced the factors that puts a strain on themselves and on the patients. Doctor Cook never once said that they chose the very last option possible, because if that was the case, the doctors would have made a call for additional volunteer recusers until conformation that no rescuers and no outside assistants were left to assure that the patients in the category five condition have a fair chance of survival. Often times, a hospital can testify that most patients have had harsher conditions that put them at near death, but after care and time, those patients have had speedy recoveries and went on to live normal lives. The doctors were in observation that the patients were suffering. Pou agreed that she administered the drugs to prevent another terrible day for the patients. Cook agreed that the drugs killed the patients by stopping their respiration system. They assumed that the patients were going to a better place. A modern christian would believe that the doctors did not take in consideration the state of the soul. Meaning, the person may not have been in a state where they went to heaven, therefore the doctors sent them to a place of deeper misery. The doctors handled the situation in the interest of the staff but not in the best interest of the patients or the patients
It is incredible how a couple who seemed to have a comfortable semiretirement near Dallas, Texas though they were ready to live life calmly as possible. Rebecca and her Husband Scott both worked part time. During the evening of March 4, Scott started having trouble breathing; Rebecca rushed him to the closest emergency room at the
According to Gamliel (2012), euthanasia refers to actions or omissions that result in the death of a person who is already gravely ill. Techniques of active euthanasia range fro...
The Five Days at Memorial is a book written by an author named Sheri Fink. The excerpt from this book describes how an unexpected disaster left staff, patients, and their love stranded in a hospital. “Without an established evacuation plan, when limited evacuation resources arrived, the staff found themselves having to make difficult decisions about who should leave the hospital first. These decisions proved crucial for the critically ill patients who required extensive care and support and who were at high risk of dying
For much of the United States’ history, problems with private hospitals refusing to treat people without financial means and transferring them to public hospitals existed. Many patients who were in serious medical crisis did not survive the journey or many died soon after. This proved that these transfers can be detrimental to the emergency victim’s health.
In A Tender Hand in the Presence of Death, Heather, the nurse, would put in IVs and feeding tubes in hopes of prolonging hospice care even when they were ineffective in order to give more time to the families who were having trouble letting go (MacFarquhar, 2016). In my personal situation, I can relate, as two of my grandparents have passed away from cancer and suffered for a long time before passing. Although it was incredibly sad and our families bargained for more time, there was some peace in knowing that the suffering had come to an end once they passed. For our own selfish reasons, we want as much time as possible with our loved ones who are suffering and close to death, but in reality, the decision for assisted suicide should only concern the individual whose life it
The category 3 storm changed the lives of the residence who lived there forever. The storm in combination with the fault of the man-made flood protection walls (levee’s) resulted in the death of at least 1,300 people (1). With nearly half the victims over the age of 74, deaths were caused by; drowning, injury/ trauma and heart conditions (2). Hurricane Katrina was one of the most costliest storms to land on American soil, costing around US$135 billion in damages (3). Although the number of deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina are not as high as other natural disasters, Katrina displaced a massive amount of people from their homes, around 85% of the population were displaced directly after the storm hit (6). Being one of the most devastating natural disasters to hit the United States, Hurricane Katrina impacted not only the residence of New Orleans by also many of the surrounding
...d how these determinations effect a physician’s approach to various types of critically ill patients? These types of questions come in to play when one attempts to critically analyze the differences between the types of terminally ill patients and the subtle ethical/legal nuances between withholding and withdrawing treatment. According to a review by Larry Gostin and Robert Weir about Nancy Cruzan, “…courts examine the physician’s respect for the desires of the patient and the level of care administered. A rule forbidding physicians from discontinuing a treatment that could have been withheld initially will discourage doctors from attempting certain types of care and force them prematurely to allow a patient to die. Physicians must be free to exercise their best professional judgment, especially when facing the sensitive question of whether to administer treatment.”
Brock argues for the use of euthanasia in his essay defending the implementation of euthanasia in medicine. One chief concern those against euthanasia have is that it will undermine the trust patients place in the hands of medical professionals. However, according to brock patients will not fear their doctors because they participate in euthanasia, but rather trust and appreciate their doctor even more (Brock pg.77). This is because those doctors know have a new tool to add to their repertoire. No healthcare provider would utilize physician assisted suicide or euthanasia without the consent of the patient and they all know this. In Brock’s essay he mentions the moral epicenter of this debate, and states that the public focuses on the moral issue of killing instead of what the doctor is supposed to do. That is a doctor is supposed to fulfill the wishes of their patient whether it be to undergo a risky surgery or to be given a lethal injection. Every human being will experience watching a loved one slowly deteriorate and will go through each day with the uncertainty of if their loved one will be there tomorrow or not. This is an unimaginable pain to bear emotionally, due to this euthanasia has its benefits. Although it can be hard to set a date for when to kill somebody it is a necessary evil. The benefit of euthanasia is that it allows for closure, and for that family to say their last
The approach of physician-assisted suicide respects an individual’s need for personal dignity. It does not force the terminally ill patient to linger hopelessly, and helplessly, often at great cost to their psyche. It drive’s people mad knowing they are going to die in a short period of time, suffering while they wait in a hospital bed.
"How can the Little Sisters of the Poor, in the service of the elderly, not be concerned about the passing of the principle of euthanasia by a Commission in the European Parliament? We feel that the confusion caused by the text pertaining to the use of extraordinary means to prolong life, palliative care and euthanasia can easily mislead an uninformed public. Yet behind these extremely complicated phrases, the thought is clear: to give doctors the right to satisfy the request for euthanasia, that is to say, to take a person's life. Human dignity does not consist in being able to choose the time of one's death, but in being aware of the fact that one's basic right is the right of respect for life, of respect for human dignity"(Little)
In an effort to provide the standard of care for such a patient the treating physicians placed Ms. Quinlan on mechanical ventilation preserving her basic life function. Ms. Quinlan’s condition persisted in a vegetative state for an extended period of time creating the ethical dilemma of quality of life, the right to choose, the right to privacy, and the end of life decision. The Quilan family believed they had their daughter’s best interests and her own personal wishes with regard to end of life treatment. The case became complicated with regard to Karen’s long-term care from the perspective of the attending physicians, the medical community, the legal community local/state/federal case law and the catholic hospital tenants. The attending physicians believed their obligation was to preserve life but feared legal action both criminal and malpractice if they instituted end of life procedures. There was prior case law to provide guidance for legal resolution of this case. The catholic hospital in New Jersey, St. Clare’s, and Vatican stated this was going down a slippery slope to legalization of euthanasia. The case continued for 11 years and 2 months with gaining national attention. The resolution was obtained following Karen’s father being granted guardianship and ultimately made decisions on Karen’s behalf regarding future medical
Hurricanes are powerful and destructive storms that involve great rain and wind. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a great amount of damage. However, there is one hurricane that happened in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the United States, a category 5 on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale. An estimated 1836 people died because of the hurricane and the floodings that happened after (Zimmermann 1). Katrina initially beg...
.... Palliative care also focuses on the life quality improvement of the patients, allowing them to recover the dignities of life before death. In all these cases, it is ruled out that any case of euthanasia is morally justifiable due to the aforementioned reason. However, when the patient himself shifts his interest from his own to others, especially the poor and needy, voluntary euthanasia will become sacrificial euthanasia, as viewed by others. In this case, euthanasia is neither akin to murder nor suicide. Instead it is a form of charity towards others, while abandoning one's own interest for the sake of others. This sacrifice holds a high view of the sanctity of life as it tries to help the life of others but is still not enough to push euthanasia into an acceptable mode. Euthanasia is taking the lead on a very dangerous road that society has decided to embark on.