Woman in US pronounced dead found gasping for air in body bag at funeral home
Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Special Care Center faces a US$10,000 fine for mistakenly pronouncing the woman dead. PHOTO: FRONTIERMGMT.COM via The Straits Times/Asia News Network
A 66-year-old woman who was pronounced dead by an Alzheimer’s care facility in Iowa in the United States was later found to be alive, after workers at a funeral home unzipped the body bag and found her gasping for air.
Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Special Care Center now faces a US$10,000 ($13,235) fine for mistakenly pronouncing the woman dead, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
According to a report from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, a nurse from the care facility was unable to locate the woman’s pulse using her stethoscope at 6am on Jan 3.
“She placed her hand on Resident #1’s abdomen and noted no movement,” the report stated.
The facility then proceeded to contact the woman’s family and a funeral home.
When a nurse and the funeral director from Ankeny Funeral Home and Crematory arrived to pick up the woman, they reported no signs of life at 7:38 am.
However, after the woman was transferred to the funeral home, workers there found her to be breathing.
“At approximately 8:26 am, funeral home staff unzipped the bag and observed Resident #1’s chest moving and she gasped for air,” stated the report. “The funeral home then called 911 and hospice.”
The woman was transferred back to the hospice facility, but died two days later on Jan 5.
The report stated that the facility “failed to provide adequate direction to ensure appropriate cares and services were provided”.
In February 2022, the same care facility was fined US$500 for failing to perform required background checks on employees. Five workers were found to not have the required training to work in a care facility.
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