Bob Johannessen
Bob Johannessen
bodies found house locked might nobody
There might still be bodies found -- for instance, if a house was locked and nobody able to go into it.
beginning grief possible process road work
It's a place for the process to start, to work through the grief of beginning the long road of possible identification.
apparently came city complete issue knew louisiana orleans shock state
Apparently it's an issue between the City of New Orleans and FEMA. The State of Louisiana knew nothing about this, it came as a complete shock to us.
access elderly homes hospitals likely nursing order possibly
The elderly were much more likely to be in hospitals and nursing homes as well as possibly homebound and not able to access transportation in order to evacuate from the storm.
changing date living recovering resources state
The resources of the state to date have been on getting the living out of New Orleans. It is changing to recovering those who perished.
agency caught critical pay question ultimately
Our agency will pay for this if we have to. It's too critical to get caught up in a question of who ultimately is going to pay for it.
body claim conduct family people winds
So many people have been completely displaced. A family that winds up in Buffalo, New York, may not have the wherewithal to claim a body and conduct a burial.
body dignity goal possibly respect treat trying
Our goal is to do everything we can under the circumstances to treat each body with as much dignity and respect as we possibly can. We're trying to treat them all as individuals.
calls complaint help last thousand
We've been getting more than a thousand complaint calls a day for the last week. We can't do much to help out. It's not our program.
percent provide state
We could provide prescriptions, but at 100 percent state expense.
federal law obligated return
We are obligated under federal law to return that money. That is what we did.
count
We're going to count one at a time. It could take days. It could take years. It could take lifetimes.
means
We don't know what to expect. It means we're prepared.