Woman Found Alive And 'Gasping For Air' In Body Bag At Funeral Home

A funeral home found a lady brought to an Iowa care facility in a body bag was still alive and "gasping for air," leading to a $10,000 fine against the facility.

According to authorities, the 66-year-old woman was pronounced dead on January 3 at Urbandale's Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Center.

The woman, whose name has not been made public, had been receiving hospice care since December 28 and has early-onset dementia, anxiety, and depression.

The Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals stated in a report submitted on Wednesday that she was placed in a zippered body bag and transported to the Ankeny Funeral Home and Crematory.

'At approximately 8.26 am funeral home staff unzipped the bag and observed Resident #1's chest was moving and she was gasping for air,' the report states. 

Then the workers dialed 911.

According to the report, when emergency medical services arrived, they were able to take a pulse and a shallow breath.

She was unresponsive but breathing when she was brought to Mercy West Lakes Hospital.

According to the report, the woman was eventually sent back to hospice care, where she passed away on January 5 with her loved ones by her side.

Investigators learned from a Glen Oaks employee who had performed a 12-hour shift that she had initially alerted a nurse practitioner that the woman was not breathing and had no pulse early on January 3.

The woman was not breathing, according to the nurse practitioner, who was also unable to find a pulse.

She kept examining the woman for around five minutes before concluding that she had passed away.

The nurse claimed that she had been attending to the patient "every hour on the hour throughout the night" in order to comfort her with morphine and lorazepam as prescribed.

The agency's citation states that 'the facility failed to ensure residents received dignified treatment and care at end of life'. 

About 90 minutes after the staff member's initial complaint, at 6:30 a.m. local time, the woman was pronounced dead.

No indications of life were discovered, according to the report, by a funeral home employee and a second nurse practitioner who placed the woman in the body bag and the funeral house's car an hour later.

Before the woman was pronounced dead, the department of inspections and appeals ruled the care center "failed to offer necessary direction to guarantee proper care and services were delivered."

The Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Centre's executive director, Lisa Eastman, said in a statement that the facility continues to be dedicated to assisting end-of-life care and has a great deal of compassion for its residents.

'All of our employees are given regular training in how best to support end-of-life care and the death transition for our residents,' Eastman said.

According to sergeant Corey Schneden, a spokesperson for the Ankeny police department, no charges will be filed.

Glen Oaks was assessed a $500 fine by the Iowa Capital Dispatch in February 2022 for failing to conduct the necessary background checks on its employees.

It was discovered that five employees lacked the training necessary to work in a memory care center.