A 66-year-old grandmother was found alive and gasping for air inside a body bag at a funeral home in Iowa.
According to reports, the hospice facility has been hit with a $10,000 fine after the elderly woman was presumed to be dead.
At 6 am on January 3, a nurse at Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Urbandale checked on the elderly woman and found no signs of life.
According to reports, the woman’s “mouth was open, her eyes were fixed, and there were no breath sounds.”
It also stated that the nurse couldn’t detect the patient’s pulse.
When she placed her hand on the woman’s abdomen, there was ‘no movement,’ the report added. The nurse then informed a family member and the on-call hospice nurse before the woman was taken to a funeral home.
“Hospice agreed to call the funeral home and did so,” the report said.
More than an hour later, the woman’s body was placed on a gurney ‘inside a cloth bag and zipped it shut.’ The funeral director who did it left the woman for several minutes.
Not long before 8:30, staff at the funeral home noticed that the woman was still alive.
“Funeral home staff unzipped the bag and observed Resident #1’s chest was moving and she was gasping for air. The funeral home then called 911 and hospice,” the report continued.
Emergency services arrived and found the woman’s pulse but she had no eye movement or vocal, verbal or motor response.
The woman was rushed to the emergency room and was back at the hospice facility where she sadly died with her family by her side.
The state Department of Inspections and Appeals spokesperson has confirmed that the facility has been fined $10,000, which is the maximum amount permitted.
In a statement, the executive director of the hospice facility – Lisa Eastman – said: “We care deeply for our residents and remain fully committed to supporting their end-of-life care. All employees undergo regular training so they can best support end-of-life care and the death of our residents.”
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