A nursing home has been cited with allowing a patient death by failing to provide appropriate care to the patient's specific needs. The patient died of asphyxiation when his ventilator was detached. The patient was attending a church service and was left for an hour without ventilation, which he required to breathe and to live.
A pastoral staff member heard the alarm but was told to ignore it. After the hour without oxygen, the patient's ventilator was reattached, but it was too late to save his life. The facility is updating its policies to require an attendant at all times for patient's requiring ventilation as treatment. For more, read the story.
