The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has just posted its investigation of neglect concerns at the Oak Hills Living Center in New Ulm, Minnesota. A complaint was filed with the Department alleging that the rights of one of the nursing home’s residents were violated when the facility staff did not honor the resident’s “full code” status. The complaint alleged that the nurse did not initiate CPR for the resident.
As the StarTribune reports, the nurse “watched a nursing home resident’s final breath, then went into ‘panic mode’ and failed to make any effort to follow the woman’s wishes and attempt to save her life.” The MDH determined that Oak Hills Living Center is responsible for neglect of the resident. [Case no. H5490012]
The MDH report states that a nursing assistant discovered that the resident was in distress and “then alerted the resident’s nurse on the resident’s change in condition.” The report states further that the nurse “then went into the resident’s room. The nurse recorded in the resident’ s medical record that the resident ‘took one last breath and then no pulse, no breathing … and no signs of life were able to be obtained from the resident. The nurse then notified the resident’s family of the death and attempted to contact the resident’s physician. No CPR was initiated.”
The nurse “ran into the resident’s room without checking the code status of the resident.” The nurse “stated that this was the nurse’s second death as a nurse and was in panic mode.” As the StarTribune reports, “Oak Hills was blamed for the death because the nurse “did not have documentation of orientation” of the residents at the facility.”
The Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm represents clients in cases involving catastrophic injury caused by nursing homes and other care facilities that fail to provide proper care. If you believe your loved one has been harmed due neglect or abuse in a nursing home, take action and contact the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm online or call us toll-free at (877) 552-2873 to set up a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
