Cops: No charges after home's refusal to give CPR

Health

Related Photos

Shown is the main gate of Glenwood Gardens in Bakersfield, Calif., Monday March 4, 2013, where an elderly woman died after a nurse refused to perform CPR on her last week. The central California retirement home is defending one of its nurses who refused pleas by a 911 operator to perform CPR on an elderly woman, who later died. "Is there anybody that's willing to help this lady and not let her die," dispatcher Tracey Halvorson says on a 911 tape released by the Bakersfield Fire Department aired by several media outlets. AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka

Discussion

March 7, 2013

Cops: No charges after home's refusal to give CPR

Anonymous Associated Press Thu Mar 07, 2013, 08:36 AM CST

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Police said Wednesday that no criminal charges will be filed after a care worker's attention-grabbing refusal to perform CPR on a resident of a Central California independent-living facility.

The Bakersfield Police Department said it has closed its investigation into the death of Lorainne Bayless, 87, who died Feb. 26 at Glendale Gardens while a nurse there refused a 911 dispatcher's pleas to administer CPR.

The public release of the 7-minute recording caused national outrage, fueled further when the facility's owner claimed the nurse acted appropriately.

On Tuesday, Tennessee-based Brookdale Senior Living Inc. reversed itself and said the unidentified employee had misinterpreted the company's guidelines and was on voluntary leave while the case is investigated.

Nonetheless, Bayless' family said it was her desire to forgo resuscitation efforts and that she died of natural causes, which her family said was her "greatest wish." The family said it has no intentions of suing the company or seeking punishment for its workers.

"They wish no hardship on those who were witnesses," said Sonja Eddings Brown, a spokeswoman for the family. "It is natural for there to be an appropriate investigation, and if Lorraine's death helps other families to learn from it or prepare for the future, then not only was her life a great blessing, but in some small way her passing too."

Bayless collapsed in the Glenwood Gardens dining hall. Someone called 911 on a cellphone and asked for an ambulance. Later, a woman who identified herself as a nurse got on the line and told dispatcher Tracey Halvorson she was not permitted to do CPR on the woman.

Halvorson implored the nurse to find someone else and said she would instruct them on how to perform CPR.

"I understand if your facility is not willing to do that," Halvorson said. "Give the phone to a passer-by. This woman is not breathing enough. She is going to die if we don't get this started, do you understand?"

By the time paramedics arrived, Bayless had stopped breathing.

Bakersfield fire officials who responded said Bayless did not have a "do not resuscitate" order on file at the home.

Text Only

Health

Her Doctor Dismissed the Lump in Her Breast
It was on the weekend of my 25th birthday that my boyfriend alerted me to a lump in my left breast. At first dismissive of his concern, I eventually promised to see my gynecologist. I was due for my annual exam anyway.

May 15, 2013 1 Photo
Tenn. hospital treats drug-dependent babies
He's less than two weeks old, but he shows the telltale signs of a baby agitated and in pain: an open sore on his chin where he's rubbed the skin raw, along with a scratch on his left check.

May 13, 2013 1 Photo
‘Fibro Fighter’ struggles with fatigue, debilitating pain
For some people life is a little more complicated than the normal rushing around with kids, doing errands, being on time for work and other everyday routines that consume most of our waking moments.

May 12, 2013 2 Photos
AP Exclusive: Calif. exchange granted secrecy
A California law that created an agency to oversee national health care reforms granted it broad authority to conceal spending on the contractors that will perform most of its functions, potentially shielding the public from seeing how hundreds of millions of dollars are spent.

May 10, 2013
Drugmakers, health groups bring poor girls vaccine
Two multinational drugmakers are teaming up with top global health groups to protect millions of girls in the world's poorest countries from deadly cervical cancer.

May 9, 2013 1 Photo
Study: Fish oil doesn’t help prevent heart attacks
Eating fish is good for your heart but taking fish oil capsules does not help people at high risk of heart problems who are already taking medicines to prevent them, a large study in Italy found.

May 9, 2013
Most and least-fit states in the U.S.
A new report released by the Centers for Disease Control highlights adult fitness levels based on participation in aerobic and muscle-building activities. Find out which states came in with the fittest and least-fit populations.

May 8, 2013 1 Photo
Bashful? Buy the little blue pill online
Men who are bashful about needing help in the bedroom no longer have to go to the drugstore to buy that little blue pill.

May 6, 2013
FDA wants cancer warnings on tanning beds
Indoor tanning beds would come with new warnings about the risk of cancer and be subject to more stringent federal oversight under a proposal unveiled Monday by the Food and Drug Administration.

May 6, 2013
The Lifefirst family
Young Vincent Karolewics dreamed of becoming a naval fighter pilot.

May 6, 2013 2 Photos
More Health Headlines

Health

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Cops: No charges after home's refusal to give CPR

Site Map

Contact Us