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Louisiana officials initially declined fed assistance

LTC Liability Monitor, February 1, 2006

A prominent Louisiana health official allegedly declined an offer of federal assistance in moving or evacuating patients and residents just before Hurricane Katrina hit, reported the Associated Press (AP). An e-mail released Monday by the U.S. Senate panel in charge of the investigation revealed that the state's health emergency preparedness director, Dr. Roseanne Pratts, informed the federal Health and Human Services Department (HHS) that she would contact HHS if help were needed, two days before the storm made landfall.

Louisiana Medical Director Jimmy Guidry told the AP that state officials were coordinating with HHS by the eve of the storm. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to issue a report on government preparedness for Katrina in mid-March, the AP reported.

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