A nurse refused to give CPR at an elderly facility when she cited the establishment's policy which doesn't allow employees to do so. According to a March 3 report on ABC News, 87-year-old Lorraine Bayless died because no one acted soon enough.
A 911 dispatcher can be heard on a seven-minute, 16-second audiotape asking if anyone could help Bayless by giving her CPR. She was frustrated that the nurse who refused to give CPR stood by and did nothing -- adamantly abiding by the facility's policy against administering CPR.
“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,” the dispatcher said. ”This woman is not breathing enough. She is going to die if we don’t get this started.”
An ambulance transported Bayless from Glenwood Gardens in Bakersfield, Calif. to a nearby hospital where she died.
The elderly facility issued the following statement:
“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. That is the protocol we followed."
Glenwood Gardens said they will launch an internal investigation into the incident.
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