The Louisiana Department of Health says a total of six nursing home residents evacuated from south of the lake to a warehouse in Independence before Hurricane Ida have died. That makes six deaths as authorities investigate how more than 800 elderly people ended up crowded together in conditions witnesses described as squalid.
LDH says the coroner has determined four of the deaths are "hurricane-related." The two most recent deaths have not been classified as storm-related.
A worker at the evacuation center told WWL-TV that conditions there "were just awful," with elderly residents on cots and inflatable mattresses with so little space between them that caretakers had to step over them. The man says not enough people had been hired to provide adequate care to the evacuees.
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"About 800 people, 800 residents were transported here" said Independence Police Chief Frank Edwards. "That put them over capacity, potentially, and the facility was not equipped, or had not been prepared for that number of people and the conditions deteriorated rather rapidly."
The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate reports the nursing homes that evacuated to the facility are all owned by Baton Rouge businessman Bob Dean. They are:
- River Palms Nursing and Rehab, Orleans Parish
- South Lafourche Nursing and Rehab, Lafourche Parish
- Maison Orleans Healthcare Center, Orleans Parish
- Park Place Healthcare Nursing Home, Jefferson Parish
- West Jefferson Health Care Center, Jefferson Parish
- Maison DeVille Nursing Home, Terrebonne Parish
- Maison DeVille Nursing Home of Harvey, Jefferson Parish
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