Something is Seriously Wrong With the Medical Industry........

Hi Guys and Dolls,

Big story is going down right now and a full investigation is being launched. An 87 year old woman staying at a Senior living facility desperately needed medical attention.

Lorraine Bayless collapsed in the dining room of the retirement home when the nurse called 911. Because there is a company policy that does not allow staff to administer CPR the woman died. 911 instructed the nurse to do CPR but she refused explaining she was not allowed to and watched this poor woman die.

The 911 dispatch responded to her refusal in the call:

"I understand if your boss is telling you, you can't do it," the dispatcher said. "But ... as a human being ... you know, is there anybody that's willing to help this lady and not let her die?"

"Not at this time," the nurse answered.

"It's not uncommon to have someone refuse to provide CPR if they physically can't do it, or they're so upset they just can't function," Kern County Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael Miller said. "What made this one unique was the way the conversation on the phone went. It was just very frustrating to anyone listening to it, like, why wasn't anyone helping this poor woman, since CPR today is much simpler than it was in the past?"

Forget policies that are absolutely ludicrous especially when you are a nurse, but what about being humane? There are plenty of us that know CPR that are not in the medical field that would assist.

If you worked for a company that had this policy would you let a person die?

Lips

Absolutely not.  There is no way I could just sit there and not try and save a life regardless of company policy.  Its outrageous and the nurse should have done something.  She will have the ladies death on her conscience for the rest of her life.

That's unbelievable and why would a nurse have to follow such a policy? That's the f'ing stupidest thing I've ever heard. I hope she does have that on her conscience for the rest of her life. She deserves to. What a crappy thing to do. OMG how could you watch someone die and stand there AND you're a NURSE. Whewww that fired me up!

I agree it's terrible!! I can't believe they have such a stupid policy!! Was her job at stake if she did or liability issues?? I wouldn't be able to just stand by.

Unforunately with all the time I've spent in the hospital lately,I seen alot of nurses and other medical professionials that it's just a job to them and you are just a room number or a illness.

It seems lately alot of people just don't have the empathy we use to.You see it everywhere..even on here.

I've had companies ask me to do some not very moral things but in no way could they dictate what I would do if presented with this situation.  I could only see it in cases where the patient had a current DNR order filed.  I didn't see mention of that weighing in, only the company policy, and that is just horrible. 

Company policy? That is insane, if someone is dying in front of you there's nobody that can force you to just sit there and let that person die. I'd call that human policy, beats the hell out of any company policy.

I can't believe she let the poor woman die even if her job was on the line.

First of all a "Retirement Home" is not part of the "medical industry". They are not the same as a Nursing Home(which is a health care provider). Nursing Homes provide medical care that is prescribed/ordered by physicians and often paid in part by Medicare, Medicaid or Private insurance.  While a Retirement Home provides no medical care. This woman required emergency assistance, but because medical care was not part of the facilities contract with the woman; they followed protocol by calling 911.  And because the staff could have been subject to litigation if they attempted to provide her treatment and it failed, they called 911. 

This is just one example of how  lawyers have destroyed our system.  There are many similar instances where doctors will not assist accident victims for fear of being sued and potentially losing their license. 

They and this facility shouldn't be subject to litigation but they are and that is why their policy requires they rely on emergency personnel. 
And, why doctors often won't provide emergency care outside of their practices to accident victims or individuals needing emergency medical care.

Think of this Retirement Residence as a personal residence where the individual in distress or their family would rely on calling 911..

By the way, under Obama Care, reimbursements to Nursing Homes are even worse as are reimbursements for home health care (an less costly alternative to nursing homes).  My husband cared for nursing home patients that were covered by Medicare and Medicaid, half of the time he wasn't paid for the treatment he provided.  He provided the treatment anyway because without it the patient simply couldn't walk or was in extreme pain. 

Obama Care does nothing to help seniors that require admission to a long-term care facility such as a nursing home.  Therefore it is a significant burden on the seniors family and I must say that out of the 25 nursing homes I consulted for and the 10 my husband contracted to provide podiatric care and surgery for, I was disappointed in the overall care they provided.  I felt sorry for the patients.  The non-nursing staff responsible for providing the biggest majority of care are paid minimum wage with little incentive to do more than they are required to by law.  It is a sad state of affairs.

If you really care about how seniors are treated once admitted to a nursing home, then I suggest you visit your local facilities and do some research online.  As far as those seniors that move into Retiirement  facilities that provide meals cafeteria style, activities and other non-medical amenities; they are not obligated to provide medical care and the fact there was someone available to respond and call 911 is more than would have happened if the senior was living alone.