Nurse Refuses to Perform CPR, Woman dies

[Anibal P]

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.

Yeah that's nice but since we allowed the lawyers and insurance companies to write Obamacare we don't get that, which is one of the things that actually needed fixed here

[Shiranui]

Maybe that is why they have AEDs in almost all major railway stations in Japan now. Just hook people up, press the button and stand well back.

[Elessar]

Wait...if she was barely breathing, how could CPR help? Last I heard, CPR should only be performed if someone is NOT breathing at all. Otherwise, a tracheotomy or something should have been performed perhaps? I'm not saying the nurse isn't in for a ****storm, but I need a bit more information before instantly labeling this nurse as evil.

[ranmas]

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

Being as the she was still breathing she probably still had a heart beat at the time in question.

Reading the article would have probably helped you to understand the situation.

The employee sounds like they are in a no win situation here, Get fired if you help them, and now they will probably be fired anyway, if not brought up on charges.

[+Red King Subscriber²]

I think US has more legally enforced anti-morality than other developed nations where moral actions are punished and actively discouraged.

[PGHammer]

Being as the she was still breathing she probably still had a heart beat at the time in question.

Reading the article would have probably helped you to understand the situation.

The employee sounds like they are in a no win situation here, Get fired if you help them, and now they will probably be fired anyway, if not brought up on charges.

Basically the only winners are the lawyers and the politicians. The family doesn't win, the victim is dead, and the facility itself is facing bad press (which results in fewer residents, despite a very understandable policy) if not MORE lawsuits from less-scrupulous lawyers. And medical costs get even further out of control.

[DocM]

I'm sorry, but my ethics & values mean more than a mere job. Therefore -

[compl3x]

Couldn't you have people sign waivers when they first go to live there which removes any responsibility on the part of the facility if CPR is performed and harm is done? It's kind of sad you have do something like that, but it seems a damn sight better than doing nothing.

I can't imagine not acting in that situation. How could one live with themselves if they stood idly by while someone dies right in front of you?

[Dane]

This happens often. When they tell you "The caller is not doing CPR, or is refusing" It makes you say "What the ****?"

A few times I've been to ones like that were drug related.

[Lexcyn]

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.

Your first statement is not true at all. There is NO law in Canada that states you will face criminal charges for not doing anything. There are, however, Good Samaritan Acts that vary province by province that state you cannot be held liable if you render first aid or assistance and cause damages (Ex: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_01g02_e.htm for Ontario).

This law seems pretty shaky though .... my uncle is a lawyer and says people get awarded damages all the time for people trying to help and screwing things up.

[spacer]

Why is everyone pitching a fit about this person not doing CPR? CPR wouldn't have helped this women. She was barely breathing and her heart was still beating. CPR only involves chest compressions to try to stave off tissue death before real measures can be taken. So...where is the confusion?

[Dane]

Why is everyone pitching a fit about this person not doing CPR? CPR wouldn't have helped this women. She was barely breathing and her heart was still beating. CPR only involves chest compressions to try to stave off tissue death before real measures can be taken. So...where is the confusion?

There could have been a chance it wasn't real breathing, but Agonal respiration.

[peacemf]

Why is everyone pitching a fit about this person not doing CPR? CPR wouldn't have helped this women. She was barely breathing and her heart was still beating. CPR only involves chest compressions to try to stave off tissue death before real measures can be taken. So...where is the confusion?

Advanced Trauma Life Support and Advanced Life Support training would tell you different. Which is something im sure these members of staff have not had.

CRP is just one one component of saving a life.......

[Growled Member]

Probably affraid she would be sued

She should be anyway.

[mokthraka]

Advanced Trauma Life Support and Advanced Life Support training would tell you different. Which is something im sure these members of staff have not had.

CRP is just one one component of saving a life.......

CPR has a success rate of something like 3% IIRC, and that is in the hospital.

It's terrible to say, but she was going to die. She was 87 living at a care facility, even if she was revived and got to a hospital, she would've been stuck full of needles and tubes, and even then would've likely passed soon.

[compl3x]

3% according to who? Why do people put random percentages but fail to source them?

[FloatingFatMan]

If she's a licensed nurse rather than just a general care worker, then for the simple act of refusing to even try to safe that lady's life, she should have her license revoked.

I showed my dad this story, he was a senior nurse for over 40 years, and he was absolutely disgusted with her refusal. Nursing isn't about making money or taking care of your own interests first. It's about helping people, and if you're not willing to do whatever is necessary to do that, you shouldn't be a nurse in the first place.

[MDboyz]

Blame it on the society for happy suing. Everyone is afraid to help out others, because if something goes wrong, they will get sued.

I was taught CPR in school, but the instructor kept telling us not to do so on strangers.

[I am Reid]

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.

its good to know a human life isnt even worth a few $1,000 to some people

[nw2001]

its good to know a human life isnt even worth a few $1,000 to some people

It's good to know that there are douchebags out there that actually sue you when you save their life.

My well being>Someone elses. I respect anyone who thinks otherwise on a sheer altruistic level, but the problem is the fact you somehow can be sued for this. We're not exactly encouraging moral behavior with that. Why help someone if your liable money wise if they decide to screw you?

[McKay]

its good to know a human life isnt even worth a few $1,000 to some people

You're right, the lift of a complete stranger who could legally bend me over the table isn't worth thousands of ? to me, especially during a recession. What if I get a judge who awards him more than what my Colleague had to pay.

[shadodemon]

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

what a f****** nurse and world we are living in! If that would have been my grandma the morals and repercussions would be the least of her worries. If this is how she acts when someone is really sick she shouldn't even be a nurse, I hope they fire her. No human being would just sit there and watch her breath slow and say oh well they are coming here to save her.

[Sir Topham Hatt]

Probably affraid she would be sued

Although in the UK there is a law that prevents a "victim" suing their "hero" - the Good Samaritan act or something similar.

I was always taught if you're not breaking ribs, you're not performing CPR right... but then this changes every year... same with the speed.

[McKay]

Although in the UK there is a law that prevents a "victim" suing their "hero" - the Good Samaritan act or something similar.

I was always taught if you're not breaking ribs, you're not performing CPR right... but then this changes every year... same with the speed.

Theres a law? I'm in the UK and my colleague got sued for the broken ribs on someone he saved with CPR.

[HawkMan]

might be more to the story than you were told.