Nurse Refuses to Perform CPR, Woman dies

[Hum]

Bakersfield fire dispatcher Tracey Halvorson pleaded with the woman on the other end of the line, begging her to start CPR on an elderly woman who was barely breathing.

?It?s a human being,? Halvorson said, speaking quickly. ?Is there anybody that?s willing to help this lady and not let her die??

The woman paused.

?Um, not at this time.?

On a 911 tape released by the Bakersfield Fire Department, the woman on the other end of the line told Halvorson that she was a nurse at Glenwood Gardens, a senior living facility in Bakersfield. But on Tuesday, the nurse refused to give the woman CPR, saying it was against the facility?s policy for staff to do so, according to the tape.

The elderly woman was identified by KGET-TV (Channel 17) as 87-year-old Lorraine Bayless. She died Tuesday at Mercy Hospital Southwest, KGET reported.

In the tape, a different Glenwood Gardens employee said that an elderly woman had passed out in the facility?s dining room while eating. She was barely breathing.

For several minutes, Halvorson begged the nurse to begin CPR, saying something had to be done before an ambulance arrived.

After the nurse repeatedly refused, Halvorson asked her to find a passerby or anyone who would be willing to help. Halvorson said she would talk someone through performing CPR.

?I understand if your facility is not willing to do that,? Halvorson told the nurse. ?Give the phone to that passerby, that stranger?this woman?s not breathing enough.

?She?s going to die if we don?t get this started.? I don?t understand why you?re not willing to help this patient.?

The nurse could be heard talking to someone else at the facility.

?She?s yelling at me,? she said of Halvorson, ?and saying we have to have one of our residents perform CPR. I?m feeling stressed, and I?m not going to do that, make that call.?

When Halvorson asked the nurse if she was going to let the woman die, the nurse said, ?That?s why we called 911.?

After a few minutes, the nurse said the ambulance had arrived. The tape ended with Halvorson sighing.

The facility?s executive director, Jeffrey Toomer, sent a statement on behalf of Glenwood Gardens to KGET, the station reported.

?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,? the statement said, according to KGET.

Bakersfield Fire Battalion Chief Anthony Galagaza said Halvorson followed protocol and that dispatchers give CPR instructions over the phone numerous times each year.

Bayless' daughter told KGET that she was a nurse and was satisfied with her mother's care at Glenwood Gardens, the station reported.

source

[+Warwagon MVC]

Probably affraid she would be sued

[Lovell]

Maybe she had a Do Not Resuscitate?

[Original Poster]

Probably affraid she would be sued

so what happens now? is she in trouble I am confused ? I dont think she did anything wrong it was her choice to save her or not .. she has the right not to

[Barney T. Administrators]

Well, I am a Registered Nurse, and I think that she failed to act.... a violation of her license called "Failure to Rescue". This can get her "nurse" status as well as her license revoked.

[The Laughing Man]

Maybe she had a Do Not Resuscitate?

Sometimes this is the case, My grandmother was on the "Do Not Resuscitate" list. Which means NO ONE is allowed to interfere in the event that she was dying, regardless of the situation since Do Not Resuscitate is given at the request of the family.

Yet who knows in this case.

[psionicinversion]

what type of f'ing nurse doesnt give CPR. Its like a lifeguard not saving a drowning person, ah well i could but its not in my section of the beach and well its a little chilly... rediculous. screw the hospital for there policy, why be trained how to do something and not do it. i learned CPR when i was 12 (19 years ago) for my lifeguards badge for swimming and still know how to do it, it doesnt need a paramedic or a rocket scientist

[ZakO]

Maybe she had a Do Not Resuscitate?

KGET-TV said the patient did not have a do-not-resuscitate order

[McKay]

Even though I've trained in first aid. I wouldn't perform CPR on a member of the public. The depth you have to push in chest compressions will crack and break ribs. A colleague at work performed it on sometime on the street who had collapsed and stopped breathing. The person sued for a broken rib and won ?2,500 in damages. So I'd just let them die, or someone else do it. I can't be sued for that.

[exotoxic]

what type of f'ing nurse doesnt give CPR.

One that is told "if you do it, your fired". The problem lies with the reason they are told not to do it, if they are worried about being sued then the problem is the US culture of suing people for making mistakes.

[Barney T. Administrators]

One that is told "if you do it, your fired". The problem lies with the reason they are told not to do it, if they are worried about being sued then the problem is the US culture of suing people for making mistakes.

I am a Registered Nurse and what you say is completely wrong. A RN has the duty to respond to suffering people. It is in their license. It has nothing to do with culture. The company that she worked for might have other directives, but a Registered Nurse has a calling higher than a corporate rule. Failure to act can result in a "Failure to Rescue" charge. At least that is how it is in the U.S.

[Hum]

Couldn't they have at least put an oxygen mask on the woman ?

[vcfan]

Even though I've trained in first aid. I wouldn't perform CPR on a member of the public. The depth you have to push in chest compressions will crack and break ribs. A colleague at work performed it on sometime on the street who had collapsed and stopped breathing. The person sued for a broken rib and won ?2,500 in damages. So I'd just let them die, or someone else do it. I can't be sued for that.

wtf, I would give them ?2500,not sue them for 2500.

[Titoist]

Here in Canada, an individual whether or not they are trained in CPR will face criminal charges if they do not perform it either through knowledge or direction from 911. Secondly, the person being saved CANNOT sue under any circumstance relating to their saving.

[McKay]

wtf, I would give them ?2500,not sue them for 2500.

That's the damages the person received from court. He tried to argue that his fractured rib degraded his quality of life while it healed.

[vcfan]

That's the damages the person received from court. He tried to argue that his fractured rib degraded his quality of life while it healed.

pathetic.

[McKay]

pathetic.

The very fact I know the person closely brought it home for me. People like that exist, for ages we couldn't invite him out because he was paying the damages.

[AsherGZ]

She was 87. It was probably her time anyway.

[Rigby]

She was 87. It was probably her time anyway.

So just because she was 87 it's no big deal that no one tried to save her? What kind of ignorant, heartless comment is that? If you lost a close relative and I told you to get over it because she was old anyway you probably wouldn't like that very much would you.

[AsherGZ]

So just because she was 87 it's no big deal that no one tried to save her? What kind of ignorant, heartless comment is that? If you lost a close relative and I told you to get over it because she was old anyway you probably wouldn't like that very much would you.

Not really. My grandfather, bless his soul, fought cancer for seven years before he finally died at 89. And it wasn't even from cancer, he just passed away in his sleep. Nobody shed a tear on his funeral, mainly because during the seven years of his illness, we'd had so many scares, so many trips to the hospital with the doctor always saying there's not much time left, mentally preparing for his loss all for him to just make a swift recovery and getting discharged, that when it finally happened without any drama, we were kind of used to it. I'll even say we were happy that death had finally relieved him of his pain. So yeah I believe her time was due and she was luckier than most people because most of us won't even get to live that long.

[Stetson]

I am a Registered Nurse and what you say is completely wrong. A RN has the duty to respond to suffering people. It is in their license. It has nothing to do with culture. The company that she worked for might have other directives, but a Registered Nurse has a calling higher than a corporate rule. Failure to act can result in a "Failure to Rescue" charge. At least that is how it is in the U.S.

Maybe she isn't a registered nurse?

[Barney T. Administrators]

Maybe she isn't a registered nurse?

Well, the report said she was a nurse....... it is possible that she was a Licensed Practical Nurse (not a full fledged Registered Nurse) however the "Failure to Rescue" clause applied to all health care workers.

[xendrome]

If you guys would have clicked the link you would know the patient did not have a DNR order, it was at a independent living facility not a nursing facility, and the nursing home as a policy in place. I think it's pretty bad when people are so afraid to lose their job that they are willing to stick by a policy like that then risk getting fired..

[Richteralan]

Probably affraid she would be sued

Basically this.

[mudslag]

Couldn't they have at least put an oxygen mask on the woman ?

And what good would that have done if there is no heart beat?