Sam Amico
An Iowa care home is in hot water after a woman, 66, was found inside a ziplock body bag, alive and breathing, at a nearby funeral home.
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The woman was in the care of the Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Special Care Centre in Urbandale, which declared her dead on Jan. 3. But after being taken to the funeral home, the woman’s chest was moving and she was gasping for air, employees said. They quickly called 911, according to a report filed earlier this week.
Once medical personnel arrived, they were able to record a pulse and shallow breathing, the report said. She eventually was taken to a nearby hospital, placed in hospice care, and died two days later.
The woman had been suffering from early-onset dementia, anxiety and depression, the report read.
Woman Found Alive in ‘Body Bag’
Meanwhile, the nursing home caring for he has been fined $100,000. Per the report, a Glen Oaks staff member who had been caring for the woman said she informed a nurse practitioner on Jan. 3 that the woman was not breathing and had no pulse.
The nurse practitioner came to the same conclusion, the report said. She reportedly continued to assess the woman, using a stethoscope, for another five minutes, before declaring that the woman had died about 90 minutes later.
A funeral home employee and another nursing practitioner found no signs of life when placing the woman in a body bag, per the report.
Lisa Eastman, executive director of the Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Special Care, released a statement saying the home remains committed to providing end-of-life care.
“All of our employees are given regular training in how best to support end-of-life care and the death transition for our residents,” Eastman said.
This is the second time in a year Glen Oaks has been fined, the first being in February 2022, when it was reportedly docked $500 for failing to do proper background checks on employees.
