Funeral home workers flinch as ‘dead’ woman begins to breathe

DES MOINES, Iowa – Urbandale nursing home fined $10,000 by the state — the maximum fine allowed by Iowa law — after declaring one of its residents dead and handing her over to a funeral home, where she was found to be still alive.

According to a report and citation from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, a 66-year-old resident was admitted to the Glen Oaks Special Care Center in 2021 with diagnoses including early onset dementia. She was later transferred to a hospice at the facility on December 28, 2022 due to “senile brain degeneration”.

The report said the erroneous death announcement occurred on January 3 at 6 a.m. after a staff member could not feel for a pulse and the resident “was not breathing at the time.” She sensed that the resident had passed away and reported this to the nurse, who issued a death statement.

About 90 minutes after the woman was declared dead, she was taken to Ankeni Funeral Home and Crematorium in a zippered body bag. When she arrived, the funeral home staff unzipped the bag, saw the guest’s chest moving, and “she was choking.” The funeral home called 911 and the hospice.

The resident was examined by Emergency Medical Services and the MercyOne Emergency Department and was found to be breathing but not responding.

The resident was returned to the hospice and died on 5 January.

“Based on the survey and review of records, the facility failed to provide residents with decent treatment and end-of-life care” and “failed to provide adequate guidance to provide appropriate care and services based on end-of-life needs of residents,” it said in a statement. .

Lisa Eastman, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Glen Oaks, told the Des Moines Register that the facility is in close contact with the woman’s family.

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“We care deeply for our residents and remain fully committed to supporting their end-of-life care. All of our employees receive regular training on how best to support end-of-life and transitional care for our residents,” Eastman said.

The business was also fined $500 last year for failing to conduct required employee background checks, according to local media reports. The house was also cited, but not fined, for violations related to health checks and staff screening, residents’ discharges, residents’ records, medication storage, residents’ service plans, and TB screening.

The Ankeni Police Department told FOX that, to the best of their knowledge, no criminal charges would be filed.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.