Last month, a 66-year-old resident of Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Center facility in Urbandale, Iowa was determined to have died. The facility contacted her family and notified a funeral home who collected the body. An hour later, the funeral home staff opened the body bag and found the woman breathing, albeit barely.
From CNN:
At 6:00 a.m. Resident #1's mouth was open, her eyes were fixed, and there were no breath sounds. [The nurse] was unable to locate Resident #1's apical pulse using her stethoscope. She placed her hand on Resident #1's abdomen and noted no movement." The family was contacted and a funeral home was called, according to records.
Both the nurse and the funeral director, who arrived from Ankeny Funeral Home and Crematory to pick up the woman, reported no signs of life at around 7:38 am.
"At approximately 8:26 a.m., funeral home staff unzipped the bag and observed Resident #1's chest moving and she gasped for air. The funeral home then called 911 and hospice," the state report said.
After first being taken to a local emergency room for care, she was found to be breathing but unresponsive. She was later returned to the hospice on Jan. 3, due to her advanced directives, according to the report.
The next day, she died. The facility is facing a $10,000 fine for the, um, error.
