The death toll from Hurricane Katrina climbed more than 50 percent
in a single day Tuesday to 423, including last week's grisly
discovery of 34 dead patients and staff members at St. Rita's
nursing home in the town of Chalmette in hard-hit St. Bernard Parish.

In the nursing home case, Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti
charged the husband-and-wife owners of St. Rita's with 34 counts of
negligent homicide for not doing more to save their elderly patients.

"The pathetic thing in this case was that they were asked if they
wanted to move them and they did not," Foti said. "They were warned
repeatedly that this storm was coming. In effect, their inaction
resulted in the deaths of these people."

Salvador A. Mangano and his wife, Mable, were released on $50,000
bond each.

Their attorney, Jim Cobb, said his clients were innocent.

Cobb said they followed the nursing home's evacuation plan that had
been filed with officials, and he blamed the St. Bernard Parish
officials for not ensuring the plan was proceeding.

"They sat and waited for a mandatory evacuation order from the
officials of St. Bernard Parish that never came," he said.

Cobb said the Manganos were forced to make a difficult decision as
the hurricane approached: evacuate the patients, many of them
elderly and on feeding tubes, or keep them comfortable at the home
through the storm.

"If you pull that trigger too soon (on evacuation) those people are
going to die," Cobb said.

Tammy Daigle, a nurse who worked at the home, also said the owners
had been worried about trying to evacuate some residents of the home
who they knew wouldn't survive the move.

Tom Rodrigue, whose mother was among the dead, was still angry and
near tears.

"She deserved the chance, you know, to be rescued instead of having
to drown like a rat," he told CNN.

In addition to St. Rita's, the attorney general said he is
investigating the discovery of more than 40 corpses at flooded-out
Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans. A hospital official said the
106-degree heat inside the hospital as the patients waited for days
to be evacuated probably contributed to the deaths

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Hello my Nursing Assitants only Group members,
I am posting this for a reason. Our thoughts and our prayers should
be with the Gulf Coast that is been hit hard by hurricane Katrina.
Of course along with the Armed Forces abroad.
But if you havnt heard St. Rita's Nursing Home has been hit hard
also.
There is a email address that I wanted to pass along to you fine
folks to help out the residents of that nursing home. They are in
need of wheelchairs, clothing , and etc. Please email this woman
that was on CNN that is a LPN that worked at the nursing home to see
what they need. The email is as follows: stritasangels@...
I hope that you guys have opened your hearts already and gave
water,food and clothing and /or money to the Hurricane victims. If
not there is still time.
Please go to www.americanredcross.org to give . Please be aware
also of fake email's asking you to give to the American Red Cross or
the Salvation army. They been reporting this also on Fox News and
CNN. But I thought I would pass this information on to you the
beautiful angels without us things for residents of Nursing homes
and other elderly services couldnt go on. Thank You for your
support.
I appreciate you all!
Love from your founder,
Sheila AKA Tornado1204