St. Ritas and Lost Causes: Improving Nursing Home Emergency Preparedness

This timely article explores the legally required emergency preparedness (or lack of it) at St. Rita's Nursing Home in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when residents were not evacuated as was mandated. The operators were charged with thirty-four counts of negligent homicide. Issues studied include the dangers of evacuating versus not evacuating, varying emergency preparedness regulations and their enforcement, and the failure of legislatures to strengthen such regulations