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Louisiana revokes nursing home licenses that evacuated residents to ‘warehouse site’ amid Hurricane Ida

The New York Daily News - 9/8/2021

Seven nursing homes in Louisiana have had their licenses revoked after residents were evacuated into a warehouse as Hurricane Ida ripped across the region. At least seven people did not survive in the make-shift shelter, according to state health officials.

More than 800 residents living in the nursing homes, which all appear to be under the same ownership, traveled 55 miles from Baton Rouge to the warehouse in the city of Independence just before the storm struck. The state health department said it learned of deteriorating conditions at what they called a “warehouse site,” about 50 miles outside of New Orleans, the same day Ida made landfall on August 29.

A preliminary inspection revealed the spot met a “minimum” standard of what can be considered a safe shelter, but the owner failed to communicate the “dire situation” as conditions deteriorated, the state agency said in a press release on Tuesday.

According to local health care workers, residents were left in their own waste and their mattresses were soaking in storm water, NBC reported.

Of the more than 60 emergency calls made from the warehouse, 30 were for assistance with medical episodes before and after landfall, including for seizures, stopped breathing, according to 911 logs obtained by CNN. In one instance, a caller says a diabetic patient needed to be moved because they had “not eaten due to them having no more supplies.”

By September 2, all residents were removed from the site due concerns regarding the conditions and transported elsewhere, including to medical special needs shelters, officials said.

“Let’s be clear; there is no emergency-preparedness plan that allows for residents to be kept in such an unsafe, unsanitary, and unhealthy condition,” Stephen Russo, director of legal, audit and regulatory affairs for the health department, said Tuesday.

“The lack of adequate care for these residents is inhumane, and goes against the rules, regulations, and applicable statutes.”

Officials said the seven facilities that had their licenses revoked cannot repatriate or admit residents. The homes also had their Medicaid provider agreements terminated, the health department said.

The state attorney general last week announced an investigation into how residents ended up at the warehouse.

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