NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The New Orleans Health Department says five elderly residents at eight senior living centers were found dead during a “post-Hurricane Ida wellness check” on those facilities.
The five deaths will be investigated by the New Orleans Coroner.
In addition, the Health Department, assisted by New Orleans Emergency Medical Services and the New Orleans Fire Department, evacuated more than 600 residents from those facilities, sending some to local hospitals and others to state-approved shelters in north Louisiana.
Health Department Director, Dr. Jennifer Avegno, said in a statement released by the city administration, that she is “deeply concerned to have seen the conditions” of those facilities, and called it a “failure” of the facility operators “to adequately prepare and protect their residents.”
The full statement, with the names of the eight senior living centers, is below.
oday, the New Orleans Health Department continued post-Hurricane Ida wellness checks at multiple senior apartment complexes in New Orleans, evacuating 8 facilities that were deemed unfit for ongoing occupancy and bringing the number of post-storm fatalities in senior living sites to five.
“I am deeply concerned to have seen the conditions of these private apartment facilities where some of our most elderly and vulnerable community members reside,” said New Orleans Health Department Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno. “It saddens me to have witnessed the failure of these facility operators to adequately prepare and protect their residents in one of our greatest times of need. The New Orleans Health Department and our public safety partners are utilizing every available resource to continue responding to this disaster, and will assess and evaluate what legislation might assist with addressing this issue in the future.”
New Orleans Emergency Medical Services, the New Orleans Fire Department, and the Regional Transit Authority assisted in the evacuation of Peace Lake Towers in New Orleans East, St. John Berchman in Gentilly, St. Martin Manor in the Warehouse District, Delille Inn in New Orleans East, Nazareth Inn 1 & 2 in New Orleans East (one fatality), Flint Goodridge Apartments in Milan (two fatalities), and Christopher Inn in the Marigny (one fatality). That is in addition to the two facilities ordered closed yesterday, including Annunciation Inn in the Seventh Ward (one fatality) and Renaissance Place in Algiers. The five deaths are under investigation by the Coroner’s Office.
Evacuated residents have been triaged by medical professionals and transported to facilities appropriate for their condition, with the majority being bussed from the Convention Center to general population shelters in Northern Louisiana and some transferred to area hospitals.
Approximately 600 individuals were processed through the City’s transportation assistance program at the Convention Center today, the vast majority of whom were residents of the evacuated apartment complexes. Wellness checks are ongoing at private facilities and the public is encouraged to call 3-1-1 to report dangerous living conditions in senior apartment complexes.
