Back from the Dead!
A $10,000 fine is awaiting the Urbandale, Iowa, facility of the Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Center for sending a woman to a funeral home while she was very much alive.
According to a report from The Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals via KCCI, a 66-year-old woman put in hospice care in late December was declared dead by a nurse practitioner at the facility on January 3.
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The report stated that the resident moved into the facility in December 2021 and has dementia, anxiety, and depression.
She entered hospice care on December 28, 2022 due to "senile degeneration of the brain." The staff started dispensing Alprazolam, also known as Xanax, and Morphine.
According to NBC 10, the nurse observed the patient for five minutes before determining that she was dead. About an hour later, a funeral home director arrived to pick up the body and, with the assistance of a different nurse practitioner, put the woman in a body bag.
According to the nurse's notes, she "appeared calm and comfortable" on December 29, but on December 30, she started refusing food and stopped leaving her room for meals.
The temperature eventually dropped, and the hospice staff reported that on January 1, "she did not open her eyes and did not speak nor respond." She started having several "minor" seizures on January 2.
The funeral director or second nurse saw no signs of life, but everything changed when she arrived at the Ankeny Funeral Home & Crematory.
The report stated that when the funeral home staff opened the bag at around 8:26 a.m., they saw Resident #1 gasping for air and her chest moving. The woman was unresponsive, but she had a pulse and was breathing. Next, the funeral home dialed 9-1-1.
In the video, a first responder at the scene can be heard responding to the startling discovery by informing dispatch that the woman believed dead, had been alive all along.
The woman was taken to the hospital, then transferred back to hospice care, where she passed away on January 5 in the company of her loved ones less than two days later.
Glen Oaks received a violation from the Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals for failing "to provide adequate direction to ensure that appropriate [care] and services were provided."
Although, for now, no criminal action is being taken.
Previously, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, five employees were found lacking the necessary training, and the facility was fined $500 in 2022 for not requiring background checks for all employees.
The DIA has cited the facility for two state infractions that carry a $10,000 fine.
Although the center director told KCCI that;
"We care deeply for our residents and remain fully committed to supporting their end-of-life care,
He added
"All employees undergo regular training so they can best support end-of-life care and the death of our residents."
But would you agree with him?
