In the wake of facing our own super storm Sandy, this article hit very close to home. Many of us lost power for days, experienced damage to their homes, and some even lost their whole house. Unfortunately, many lives were lost during this hurricane as well. Sandy devastated the lives of many but it was not nearly as devastating as the effects of Hurricane Katrina. As I began to read the article, “The Deadly Choices at Memorial,” the eerie tone brought about goosebumps to my skin. I could not imagine walking through a hospital after this deadly hurricane and seeing motionless bodies everywhere. Furthermore, I could not imagine being the person responsible for the many casualties at the Memorial Medical Center in Uptown New Orleans.

I think it is appalling that after the physician Anna Pou injected some patients with lethal doses of drugs to hasten their deaths, she was allowed to advise state and national medical organizations and conducts lectures on medicine and ethics. Instead, she should have been indicted on the charges for second-degree murder, as well as the other medical professionals that were involved. Pou asks, “How long should health care workers have to be with patients who may not survive?” The key word “may” implies that a patient has the possibility to survive and the medical professionals would completely disregard this fact and take their life. This to me seems like murder.

As I read further into the article, I became more and more disgusted with the choices on the medical professionals at Memorial. According to the article, Richard Deichmann said that patients with D.N.R. orders had terminal or irreversible conditions, and at Memorial he believed they should go last because they would have had the “least to lose” compared with others if calamity struck. This is utterly sick coming from a medical-department chairman who is supposed to do everything in his power to help save the lives of each and every patient, even in the face of a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina.

Although there could never be enough preparation made for natural disasters, healthcare and medical professionals should be willing to do whatever it takes to help their patients in the wake of such disasters. The order or medical attention should not shift in the wake of tragedy and everyone should receive the same care, as is allowed. In the event of any emergency medical professionals should come together and make plans that are in the best interest of each and every patient.