Disgusting.
When I read the article a few years back about the Firefighters in Britain letting a person on a few feet of water drown because it was against the department policy in some way to help him, i was dumbfounded. I couldn't believe that a bureaucracy was that entrenched that it could paralyze a person from savings a life. i felt sorry for Britains.
Now, it's crossed the pond.
U.S ‘Is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?’: 911 tape reveals dispatcher's pleas on behalf of victim who needs CPR
A dispatcher’s desperate pleas for a nurse to perform CPR and try to save the life of an 87-year-old woman at a California retirement home was met with stubborn resistance, a shocking 911 tape reveals.
“It’s a human being,” the dispatcher says in the dramatic call. “Is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?”
“Not at this time,” the nurse calmly replies.
The victim was later declared dead at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield — forcing the nursing home, Glenwood Gardens, to defend its nurse’s actions after the life-and-death situation last Tuesday.
The Bakersfield Fire Department identified the dispatcher as Tracey Halvorsen, who took the call about a woman who had collapsed at the retirement facility’s dining room and was barely breathing.
“We need to get CPR started,” Halvorsen says in the 7-minute call, which was made public Sunday.
“Yeah, we can’t do CPR,” says the nurse, identified as Colleen, referring to a company policy that requires employees to wait for emergency responders to arrive before attempting the procedure.
The Glenwood Garden retirement facility in Bakersfield, Calif., where a resident later died after an employee refused to attempt CPR. Halvorsen tells the nurse that EMS would assume liability for the call.
“Anybody there can do CPR,” the dispatcher continues. “Give them the phone, please. I understand if your facility is not willing to do that. Give the phone to that passerby, that stranger ... this woman is not breathing enough. She's going to die if we don’t get this started. Do you understand?”
“ I understand. I am a nurse,” Colleen says. “But I cannot have our other senior citizens who don’t know CPR do it.”
“I will instruct them. Is there anyone there who will (do it),” Halvorsen says, later adding, “I don’t understand why you’re not willing to help this patient."The nurse tells a colleague that she feels “stressed” over the situation and that the dispatcher is “yelling” at her to have one of the other nursing home residents perform CPR.
Halvorsen grows desperate, and asks if there’s a gardener or a stranger on the street who might be willing to step in.
Eventually, the ambulance arrives to transport the victim, identified as Lorraine Bayless, to the hospital.
RELATED: JOANNA MOLLOY'S RESPONSE TO A TRAGIC TRAIN RIDE
Susana Bates for News
A woman at a California nursing facility had trouble breathing and required CPR but a nurse refused, citing company policy to the dispatcher. The woman resided at Glenwood Gardens’ independent living home, where employees aren’t supposed to attempt CPR on residents, unlike other sections of the facility.
Bayless, however, did not have a do-not-resuscitate order, according to NBC affiliate KGET-TV.
Still, the woman’s daughter told the station that she was satisfied with how the facility handled the situation.
Glenwood Gardens released a statement explaining its hard-line position.
“In the event of a health emergency at this independent living community our practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives,” Jeffrey Toomer, the facility’s executive director, said in a statement. “That is the protocol we followed.”
Toomer told KGET-TV that residents are informed of its policy when they move in.
The facility does plan to perform a “thorough internal review” of the incident, he added.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...#ixzz2Mb2VlJth
When I read the article a few years back about the Firefighters in Britain letting a person on a few feet of water drown because it was against the department policy in some way to help him, i was dumbfounded. I couldn't believe that a bureaucracy was that entrenched that it could paralyze a person from savings a life. i felt sorry for Britains.
Now, it's crossed the pond.
U.S ‘Is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?’: 911 tape reveals dispatcher's pleas on behalf of victim who needs CPR
A dispatcher’s desperate pleas for a nurse to perform CPR and try to save the life of an 87-year-old woman at a California retirement home was met with stubborn resistance, a shocking 911 tape reveals.
“It’s a human being,” the dispatcher says in the dramatic call. “Is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?”
“Not at this time,” the nurse calmly replies.
The victim was later declared dead at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield — forcing the nursing home, Glenwood Gardens, to defend its nurse’s actions after the life-and-death situation last Tuesday.
The Bakersfield Fire Department identified the dispatcher as Tracey Halvorsen, who took the call about a woman who had collapsed at the retirement facility’s dining room and was barely breathing.
“We need to get CPR started,” Halvorsen says in the 7-minute call, which was made public Sunday.
“Yeah, we can’t do CPR,” says the nurse, identified as Colleen, referring to a company policy that requires employees to wait for emergency responders to arrive before attempting the procedure.
The Glenwood Garden retirement facility in Bakersfield, Calif., where a resident later died after an employee refused to attempt CPR. Halvorsen tells the nurse that EMS would assume liability for the call.
“Anybody there can do CPR,” the dispatcher continues. “Give them the phone, please. I understand if your facility is not willing to do that. Give the phone to that passerby, that stranger ... this woman is not breathing enough. She's going to die if we don’t get this started. Do you understand?”
“ I understand. I am a nurse,” Colleen says. “But I cannot have our other senior citizens who don’t know CPR do it.”
“I will instruct them. Is there anyone there who will (do it),” Halvorsen says, later adding, “I don’t understand why you’re not willing to help this patient."The nurse tells a colleague that she feels “stressed” over the situation and that the dispatcher is “yelling” at her to have one of the other nursing home residents perform CPR.
Halvorsen grows desperate, and asks if there’s a gardener or a stranger on the street who might be willing to step in.
Eventually, the ambulance arrives to transport the victim, identified as Lorraine Bayless, to the hospital.
RELATED: JOANNA MOLLOY'S RESPONSE TO A TRAGIC TRAIN RIDE
Susana Bates for News
A woman at a California nursing facility had trouble breathing and required CPR but a nurse refused, citing company policy to the dispatcher. The woman resided at Glenwood Gardens’ independent living home, where employees aren’t supposed to attempt CPR on residents, unlike other sections of the facility.
Bayless, however, did not have a do-not-resuscitate order, according to NBC affiliate KGET-TV.
Still, the woman’s daughter told the station that she was satisfied with how the facility handled the situation.
Glenwood Gardens released a statement explaining its hard-line position.
“In the event of a health emergency at this independent living community our practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives,” Jeffrey Toomer, the facility’s executive director, said in a statement. “That is the protocol we followed.”
Toomer told KGET-TV that residents are informed of its policy when they move in.
The facility does plan to perform a “thorough internal review” of the incident, he added.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...#ixzz2Mb2VlJth
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