Elderly woman dies because nurse refused to give CPR

[Gracie]

Remember the ice age movie with ray ramano? The squirrel? It finally dies trying to get it's acorn and reaches the big huge golden acorn pearly gate and just as it reaches for the golden acorn on the other side of the gate...with big puffy white clouds....the sloth does mouth to mouth on the squirrel and yanks him back from death. Boy was that squirrel pissed off.

That squirrel is me. If I fall down gasping for air amd dying, nobody better do cpr on me. Let me go. That's why I have a DNR and I am betting that woman had one as well.

 

[waltky]

Well...

... that's California fer ya.

 

[Gracie]

I was born in Bakes. So california has its perks...speaking from this side of the proverbial fence.

 

[Franticfrank]

She might well have died anyway, despite CPR - she was 87 after all. Still, I also think its very bizarre that a nursing home should have that policy.

 

[MeBelle]

Here is the big fail:

"In the event of a health emergency at this independent living community, our practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives.

Do a google search and you'll find all sites list the facility as

Assisted Living, Independent Living, Alzheimer’s Memory Care

She was living at the Independent Living Facility, not Assisted Living or a SNF.
"The incident unfolded on Tuesday when 87-year-old Lorraine Bayless collapsed at Glenwood Gardens, a senior living facility in Bakersfield."

Glenwood Gardens | California Senior Living | Assisted Living

Links in the link describe each level of service.

Actually now that I looked at Glenwood, they only offer Independent Living and Assisted Living.
The new 'trend' is to get Alzheimer/dementia patients into an Assisted Living facility as a private payer.

Independent Living or Assisted Living is not REQUIRED to have nurses on sight. They are not even licensed as far as receiving Medicare of Medicaid dollars and do not have go through State or Federal surveys.

This woman is a perfect example of why Assisted Living facilities should not be allowed to take Alz/dementia pts.

Medicare.gov - Types of Long-Term Care

 

[MeBelle]

First off...just what type of medical facility (which it is) makes it a rule NOT to perform cpr on a patient?

Now, unless the woman had a do not resuscitate order signed by her and or signed and approved by her closest of kin (assuming her daughter) then, yes...everything was followed as requested by both patient and a family member and nurse.

Yet, the question STILL remains...what kind of facility makes it "protocol" to NOT perform cpr on any patient...I am sure that there are those patients and families that hope a nurse or nurses assistent would do so if they were not breathing for whatever reason.

What, is the heimlich maneuver against "protocol" too? Really?

It's not a medical facility.

 

[MeBelle]

Unless California is the most backwards state there, is which it very well could be, nurses have a legal duty to rescue/render aid.

It's like with a lifeguard at a pool. If someone is drowning, the lifeguard is obligated to save them, they have a legal duty to do so. A parent as a legal duty to save their child, but a complete stranger typical doesn't have a legal duty to save a stranger. But a nurse isn't a stranger.

I agree. The person in question was possibly a nurse’s aid, not an RN or LPN. She/he should have called someone else to do it, if possible. Personally, I cannot see standing by and letting someone die because you are afraid of losing your job.

But, I agree with others, the facility should not have such a rule. How can a facility which cares for people not render life saving CPR when necessary? Why would anyone send a relative there or agree to live there? Maybe they didn't read the small print..

"...was possibly a nurse’s aid not an RN or LPN."
Or even a CNA, she would have identified herself as a CNA, LPN or RN.
Assisted Living facilities are not medical facilities.

 

[editec]

Reads like it's time for a good civil suit against that retirement home.

 

[Sallow]

An 17 year dying to a gunshot wound is tragic. An 87 year old woman dying of natural causes is um..natural.

You should learn the difference.

 

[Sallow]

Reads like it's time for a good civil suit against that retirement home.

Except it's not.

 

[Katzndogz]

Someone who intends to take up residency in this kind of facility should but won't be able to, review the employment policy manual.

The family of this poor woman will end up owning what's left of this facility for having such a policy in the first place. Will the facility deny the policy and just blame the nurse? Bet it does.

 

[AmyNation]

The family say they are happy with the facility and the care their mother received.

 

[Zoom-boing]

First off...just what type of medical facility (which it is) makes it a rule NOT to perform cpr on a patient?

Now, unless the woman had a do not resuscitate order signed by her and or signed and approved by her closest of kin (assuming her daughter) then, yes...everything was followed as requested by both patient and a family member and nurse.

Yet, the question STILL remains...what kind of facility makes it "protocol" to NOT perform cpr on any patient...I am sure that there are those patients and families that hope a nurse or nurses assistent would do so if they were not breathing for whatever reason.

What, is the heimlich maneuver against "protocol" too? Really?

It's not a medical facility.

Regardless, the woman who called 911 was a nurse and there was no reason that she wouldn't/couldn't have performed cpr (unless there was a dnr). CPR isn't cracking her open or doing a trach or anything at all like that. It's basic knowledge.

My parents are in an independent living facility (there own apartment). There is a medical facility on site but even if they just had a nurse there if something happened to them and cpr was needed I'd want cpr done. So would they.

I hate the 'oh well, she was 87 she had a long life' attitude of some of you. As if she was dead already. No wonder the term 'death panel' pops up.

 

[Katzndogz]

The family say they are happy with the facility and the care their mother received.

That's not what they said last night when they were interviewed.

 

[AmyNation]

She didnt perform cpr because its against the policy of the home. While you or I could say, we would have stepped up and damn the consequences, I can also understand someone who doesn't want to put their job on the line.

 

[AmyNation]

The family say they are happy with the facility and the care their mother received.

That's not what they said last night when they were interviewed.

I don't know who "they" is but her daughter released a statement to abc that said exactly that, this morning.

 

[boedicca]

The woman signed an agreement agreeing that life-saving efforts would not be performed (rather like a do not resuscitate order). As awful as this 911 incident may look, it's what she agreed to.

 

[Zoom-boing]

The woman signed an agreement agreeing that life-saving efforts would not be performed (rather like a do not resuscitate order). As awful as this 911 incident may look, it's what she agreed to.

I still don't understand a place having a policy that says no one can give aid. I mean, then why do they even have a nurse on site?

 

[boedicca]

The woman signed an agreement agreeing that life-saving efforts would not be performed (rather like a do not resuscitate order). As awful as this 911 incident may look, it's what she agreed to.

I still don't understand a place having a policy that says no one can give aid. I mean, then why do they even have a nurse on site?

I don't know all the details of this case, but there are facilities that provide Palliative Care...people are there just to be made comfortable until they die. It's also not unusual for someone in a care or hospital setting to have a Do Not Resuscitate Order. Not everyone aspires to live like a vegetable.

 

[Zoom-boing]

The woman signed an agreement agreeing that life-saving efforts would not be performed (rather like a do not resuscitate order). As awful as this 911 incident may look, it's what she agreed to.

I still don't understand a place having a policy that says no one can give aid. I mean, then why do they even have a nurse on site?

I don't know all the details of this case, but there are facilities that provide Palliative Care...people are there just to be made comfortable until they die. It's also not unusual for someone in a care or hospital setting to have a Do Not Resuscitate Order. Not everyone aspires to live like a vegetable.

I get that but this place was an independent senior living facility. I don't get why a place like that would have a hands-off policy.