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Elderly woman dies when nursing home staff refuses CPR

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    Nursing home comes to employee's defense

  • Duration 6:12
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Well California nursing home is now defending.

A nurse who refused to perform CPR on an 87 year old patient here's -- I 11 -- You can hear the operator practically begging -- -- to step in and begin CPR.

For this elderly woman listen to this.

Yeah we did it yet but I don't have -- I didn't have that fog the app I haven't gotten there and liked -- a phone -- Can't you at your facility not willing give a (%expletive) about profit I think at that I.

I've not read about it by.

I don't know what they did you yelling out and don't that we want to have one of -- -- -- at that point.

Did you know -- And don't I'm not gonna -- -- guy or that I have a calling.

I -- -- -- only part way.

-- human being I don't you know it and I think technically that's going to help the lady a letter.

I'm not as if -- Not at this time I mean that is stunning.

Moment to witness on that tape that patient ended up dying.

At the hospital.

I'm joined now by doctor Marc Siegel professor of medicine and why you -- on medical center.

And a member of the fox in medical eighteen.

And -- parents why is an employment law attorney because you can bet that there are legal issues that prompted this moment.

To be sure -- doctor -- let me start with you what's your reaction to that.

Well Martha obviously I'm shocked about this in the main point -- wanted to understand is that delays the issue it is so absurd to be calling 911.

To get emergency medical personnel and to a facility that in my opinion or -- you should have that in nurse that's there.

Should be trained in CPR.

The idea bit of a passer by doing it what about the nurse.

All its facilities like that should have the crash cart's -- of emergency carts or at least.

The defibrillators that they could use of someone's heart stops beating.

People there should be trained in CPR the key is the delay because if you delay until an ambulance arrives your chances of survival are less than 5%.

If you use CPR right away and the federal later in the if needed.

You can go up to a success rate of up to 75%.

So that's really the issue and they shouldn't be making a decision by the way of who's gonna wanna be resuscitated and who isn't.

Because if they don't have a.

Let's take a look at what this facility says -- here is their statement because the legal side of this everybody knows.

Is what this is all about -- -- in this isn't what their policy it's according to the executive director in the event of a health emergency at this independent living community.

Our practice is to immediately call emergency medical person offer assistance.

And to wait for the individual -- -- -- weight with that individual getting attention until such personnel arrives and that is the protocol.

That we file -- it's also worth mentioning that this is the homes independent living community.

They also have two other facilities they have an adjacent assisted living facility.

And then a skilled nursing facility they say the policies different -- but when people sign up for this particular place where they live independently.

They know that this is the policy so let's go to our lawyer what do you think.

Well.

I think the situation is obviously -- this is the perfect storm of bad judgment.

This facility.

Made a bad decision by apparently telling their nurses who weren't clearly nearby and within the zone of assistance that not only should they not immediately provide assistance but that they're disqualified -- -- they should have hands off.

That's an absolutely outrageous application of the policy in this -- -- all due respect to her also had terrible judgment she stood there and she apparently watch this woman that.

Gradually died.

So this is the perfect storm of bad decisions.

And at the end of the day legally although a company an employer has broad latitude and discretion to apply policies and procedures they can't do it in a way.

That puts their clients and customers a clear risk in this situation.

This individual made a terrible decision look even summer lifeguards were teenagers understand how to -- CPR she abandoned her training.

Legally there's no justification with regard to either the facility or the nurse in my opinion.

Martha that this is an independent living facility plenty of people of medical problems here in reply report she supposedly still had some breathing at the beginning.

You know so the idea is people are going to be prone to this kind of thing and they need to have a policy.

Medically legally where they have to intervene in the situation like this there's -- could have been possibly to -- this right.

Yeah I think it's just stunning to listen to this woman stand -- that I -- -- about our society you know because because she's standing -- she's analysts is our policy.

And she's famous woman on the bonus time that I have to do something.

Where that we should grabbed one of the other people who listen here to do something -- and I feel like we've just you know in some places in society become exempt.

From human feeling and and the need to forget all that jump in and help out.

You can stand on legal ceremony -- person is in front of -- dying and one of the most painful ironies of this situation is that I think that this nurse did constitute train medical personnel.

If she didn't fall within the policy.

Then what was she doing there and why was this facility telling her.

That she was prohibited from applying lifesaving medical care it's absolutely outrageous there's no factual or legal justification in this tragic situation.

Marc -- spot on us -- if -- how to do not resuscitate order that would be one thing but to stand there without even knowing the medical details of the case and make a decision a priority like this.

Is really very disturbing the policy of the place needs to be changed immediately.

Change.

John and thank you and I guess it's a warning for anybody who has a loved one in this kind of place to to check out what their policy is -- make sure that you're very familiar with that and they understand the circumstances as.

This is a very unfortunate situation and very sad thank you very much gentlemen let's marvelous -- -- operator tried and oftentimes uses her -- stores for the operator I dropped the ball right I mean not misuse just grab anybody because it's as actors -- is suggesting.

Even as even a little bit of pressure on that -- in -- situation might have gotten her you know the time that she needed until they got there -- be with us.

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