A nurse refuses to give CPR to an elderly woman at a senior living facility and the woman died as a result. On March 3, ABC News reported that 87-year-old Lorraine Bayless collapsed at Glenwood Gardens, a senior living facility in Bakersfield. When a nurse called 911, the dispatcher asked if she could perform CPR and the nurse said "no." This was company policy after all.
"'Is there anybody there that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?' the dispatcher asked in a recording of the 911 call released by the Bakersfield Fire Department. 'Not at this time,' the nurse said," via ABC News.
After the nurse refuses to give CPR, the 911 dispatcher asks if there is anyone else that could give Bayless CPR because the elderly woman's life depended on it. However, the nurse was not cooperative -- she did not find anyone to help save the woman's life.
"Anybody there can do CPR. Give them the phone please. I understand if your facility is not willing to do that. Give the phone to that passerby. This woman is not breathing enough. She is going to die if we don’t get this started," the dispatcher said. By the time the ambulance arrived, it was too late -- Bayless was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The nurse refused to give the woman CPR because these were her instructions. There are many senior and/or assisted living facilities that do not allow their staff to perform CPR on a resident no matter what.
© Effie Orfanides 2013
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