One of the workers caring for more than 800 nursing home residents who were evacuated after Ida blew the whistle to WWL-TV on conditions in the warehouse where they were kept.
He said he “expected” some residents would die because the conditions were what he considered to be unsafe.
Four of the nursing home residents died. Cause of death has not yet been determined.
The worker told WWL-TV people were sleeping on mattresses on the floor and there weren’t enough workers there to help the elderly and disabled eat and drink.
“The conditions weren’t good enough,” he said. “I knew they wasn’t going to be safe for the residents and for the workers. We did the best we could with what we had.”
Residents were from seven nursing homes across Louisiana: River Palms Nursing and Rehab in Orleans Parish, South Lafourche Nursing and Rehab in Lafourche Parish, Maison Orleans Healthcare Center in Orleans Parish, Park Place Healthcare Nursing Home in Jefferson Parish, West Jefferson Health Care Center in Jefferson Parish, Maison DeVille Nursing Home in Terrebonne Parish, Maison DeVille Nursing Home of Harvey in Jefferson Parish.