Deadly Neglect: Apathy & Denial VS. Act of God

Each new hurricane season brings with it a flurry of new articles and books chronicling the ravages of
Katrina and the continuing angst and sorrow left in the crescent city, This book is essentially the
re-telling of the tragic story of nine nurses trapped in hospitals during and after one of the nation's most
destructive storms.

This was first published as a scholarly doctoral dissertation but we spare the reader the expected
academic rigor of such a document. We take a look at the area's history of severe storms and the costly
actions taken to mitigate obvious vulnerabilities and (what appear to be) robust measures to prepare for
and respond to the known greatest threat to the region.

We follow the approaching hurricane Katrina viewing the same set of information available to decision
makers responsible for the safety and security of hospitalized patients in the area. In time of crisis, at a
critical point in time, hospital authorities must choose between "protecting in place or evacuating"
their vulnerable charges, The fatal decision to "protect in place" set the stage for "Nurses in Hell: The
Katrina Experience."