LOUISIANA LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS CHAIFIPEHSDN SEN. JAMES HARRIS, New Orleans, District 11 VICE CHAFHPEHSON REP. BARBARA W. CARPENTER Baton Rouge, District 63 1'r VICE CHAIapensoN REP. PATRICIA MOORE Monroe, District 17 House WHIP REP. RODNEY LYONS. SR. Harvey, District 87 SECRETARY REP. EDMOND JORDAN Baton Rouge, Distric 29 TREASURER REP. CANDACE N. NEWELL New Orleans, District 99 REP. KENNY R. COX Natchitoches. District 23 PARLIAMENTAHIAN REP. VINCENT I. PIERRE Lafayette, District 44 CHAPLAIN SEN. REGINA A. BARROW Baton Rouge, District 15 IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR REP. RANDAL L. GAINES LaPlace, District 57 SENATOHS GERALD BOUDREAUX. Lafayette, District 24 JOSEPH BOUIE. JR. New Orleans, District 3 TROY CARTER New Orleans, District 7 KAREN CARTER PETERSON New Orleans, District 5 CLEO FIELDS Baton Rouge, District 14 KATRINA R. JACKSON Monroe, District 34 EDWARD J. PRICE Gonzales, District 2 GREGORY W. TARVER, SR. Shreveport, District 39 REPRESENTATIVES KENDRICKS BRASS Vacherie, District 58 MARCUS BRYANT New Iberia, District 96 GARY M. CARTER, JR. New Orleans, District 102. WILFORD CARTER, SR. Lake Charles, District 34 ROYCE DUPLESSIS New Orleans. District 93 CEDRIC B. GLOVER Shreveport. District 4 KYLE M. GREEN, JR. Marrero, District 83 IASON HUGHES New Orleans, District 100 EDWARD C. JAMES, II Baton Rouge, District 101 PATRICK O. JEFFERSON Homer, District ll SAM L. JENKINS. JR. Shreveport, District 2 C. TRAVIS JOHNSON Vidalia, District 21 FREDRICK DOUGLAS JONES Bastrop. District 16 ED LARVADAIN, Alexandria, District 26 C. DENISE MARCELLE Baton Rouge. District 61 DUSTIN MILLER Opelousas. District 40 TAMMY T. PHELPS Shreveport, District 3 LARRY SELDERS Baton Rouge. District 67 MATTHEW WILLARD New Orleans, District 97 September 9, 2020 The Honorable John Bel Edwards Governor State of Louisiana P. O. Box 90004 Baton Rouge, LA POST OFFICE BOX 44003 BATON FIOUGE, LOUISIANA 70804 (225) 3423342 FAX: (225} 342-0354 email: caucusb?legislagov Dear Governor Edwards, Thank you for meeting with members of the LLBC and your staff on September 8, 2020. The meeting was very productive and we look forward to following up on the items discussed. The purpose for the meeting is as follows. On September 2, 2020, we read an article in the non?partisan news outlet, ProPublica and subsequently, we read the same subject matter article in NOLA. 01%, referencing Ochsner Health System. The article Spoke to the mistreatment of African Americans in the Ochsner system during the early days of The articles allege that Ochsner sent high number of A??ican American senior citizen home or to a facility to die of COVID- 9. It further speaks to a number of patients having Do Not Resuscitate, (DNR) notes in their ?les without patient/family permission. Therefore, we respectfully request and urge you to have an inquiry launched in light of the myriad of phone calls into our of?ce, regarding the articles. Here is an excerpt from ProPublica: ?As coronavirus patients swamped New Orleans hospitals this spring, the number of available ventilators and intensive care beds got critically low at times. But as health care providers struggled to keep up with the patient crush, doctors at some New Orleans hospitals made decisions about coronavirus patients that were at odds with those made by doctors elsewhere, according to an investigation published Wednesday, September 2, 2020 by the nonpro?t newsroom ProPublica. ProPublica analyzed coroner records of all 460 New Orleans deaths through early May 2020, and found that 55 of them happened outside of a hospital setting. That was unusual. In other cities that were hot spots for coronavirus outbreaks in the spring, patients most often died in hospital-like settings, because health care providers worried that sending them home to die would result in the virus spreading?, ProPublica reported. This mformation is very disturbing for us as leaders of our state to read. The practice of sending coronavirus patients home for hospice was especially pervasive at hospitals run by Ochsner Health System, which treated 60% of the region's critically ill patients, ProPublica reported. Understanding that a large number of people 85 and older died across the country, this tactic should not be used. ProPublz?ca reported that for coronavirus patients 85 and older, 17% died at home in New Orleans, while just 4% died at home nationally. Many people normally do not question medical practitioners because they feel they are right with their prognosis, diagnosis and decisions they share with the patients. But after reading this article and because of observations throughout the years, we are asking you, Governor Edwards, to have the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) and the Health Equity Task Force launch a full investigation to answer these and any other questions that would be critical to the subject. This would allow us to gain accurate information and ensure all Louisiana citizens receiving hospital care are being treated with dignity and reSpect. We are also requesting further discussion on the letters that were sent earlier this spring by Senator Greg Tarver and Senator Troy Carter. In addition, we are also requesting from the investigation thoroughly look into and answer the followingthe reported 17% that died from home, what was done to make sure the patients were properly attended to? If local practices were out of step with national practices for patients 85 and older, and, not in line with what the family desired, who made the ?nal call on the lives of these human beings? On what legal authority were they able to do so? How many families gave consent to Do Not Resuscitate How many families did not give DNR consent? How many other hospital and hospital-like settings operated the same? What other factors could and should have been considered and why weren?t they? How many died from the other hospital?like settings? What hospice company were these patients referred too? Does Ochsner have any ownership interest? 10) How many families were given PPE to proper care and visit for COVE) Positive patient referred home to hospice while also protecting themselves? 11) How many medical providers sent patients home on hospice? 12) Was thisjust one or two Physicians or many? Please list the amount of different doctors whom administered orders to hospice. Were these doctors anyway af?liated with the hospice company? Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Ifyou need me, I or any member of the La. Legislative Black Caucus can be reached at our of?ce at 225?342?7342. Sincerely, Senator James ?JimmV? Harris, lil Representative Barbara West Carpenter Chairman Vice Chairman