In a strange incident of its kind in the United States, the death of a 66-year-old woman was announced, only to wake up hours later, gasping for air, at a funeral home in Iowa.
In the details, the woman spent at least 40 minutes in a body bag as she moved from the Glen Oaks Center for Alzheimer’s Disease to the funeral home, according to the Health Facilities Division of the Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals, which oversees the safety of health facilities.
The incident occurred on January 3, as the report stated that “at approximately 8:26 am, funeral home staff decompressed the bag and noticed that Resident No. 1’s chest was moving and she was gasping for air.”
The funeral home called an emergency, and when health services responded, paramedic teams were able to record a pulse and shallow puffs, according to the report.
The woman, who was suffering from early-onset dementia, was taken to hospital by emergency medical services and later transferred to a care facility where she died surrounded by her family on Jan. 5, according to the report.
According to the report, the staff member who examined the patient could not find a pulse and noticed that the woman did not appear to be breathing.
The report quoted the employee as saying, “I felt that the resident had passed away and informed the nurse.”
The nurse told the agency that she was checking in on the woman “every hour throughout the night” to give lorazepam and morphine as needed for comfort.
The nurse explained that there were no sounds of breathing, and she also examined the woman’s abdomen and found no movement and was also unable to find a pulse using a stethoscope, according to the report.
According to the agency, “the facility failed to ensure that residents received dignified treatment and care at the end of their lives.”
While the facility was fined $10,000.
In a statement to the newspaper,PEOPLEThe facility’s executive director, Lisa Eastman, said she has been in close contact with the resident’s family.
“We have just completed an Inspection and Appeals Department investigation into the matter,” Eastman added. “We care deeply about our residents and remain fully committed to supporting their end-of-life care. All staff undergo regular training so that they can better support the end-of-life and death care of our residents.” .