Woman Accidentally Declared Dead ‘Gasps For Air’ Inside Body Bag At Funeral Home

Write Comment

An Iowa woman who was mistaken as deceased reportedly gasped for air while in a body bag at a funeral home. Authorities said a nursing home sent her after workers thought she had died.

RELATED STORIES: Funeral Home Owner Sentenced To 20 Years In Federal Prison For Selling Body Parts From 500+ Corpses; And Her Mother Helped

The 66-year-old woman was in hospice care at the Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Urbandale in December after suffering from early-onset dementia, anxiety, and dementia. According to TOO FAB, the woman was pronounced dead by a nurse practitioner at the center on January 3, and she claimed she couldn’t find a pulse on the unidentified woman, noting that she wasn’t breathing either.

“At 6:00 a.m. Resident #1’s mouth was open, her eyes were fixed, and there were no breath sound. [The nurse] was unable to locate Resident #1’s apical pulse using her stethoscope. She placed her hand on Resident #1’s abdomen and noted no movement.”

RELATED STORIES: Family Sues Funeral Home After The Wrong Person Was Buried In Mom’s Plot

The woman was reportedly observed for five minutes before she was placed in a body bag. Once the woman arrived at the Ankeny Funeral Home & Crematory, the funeral director and another nurse didn’t see any signs. Around 8:26 a.m., a funeral staff member unzipped the body bag and noticed the woman’s chest moving, and she suddenly gasped for air. Although she showed vital signs, she was unresponsive, and the funeral home contacted 911.

The woman died on January 5, two days after being taken to the hospital and returned to hospice care, surrounded by loved ones. The hospice care facility has now been fined $10,000 by the Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals for falsely claiming the woman’s death and for failing to provide adequate direction to ensure care was provided. During the investigation, no criminal charges were filed. Glen Oaks executive director Lisa Eastman released a statement to address the incident and the woman’s death.

“[We] care deeply for our residents and remain full committed to supporting their end-of-life care” in a statement. She added, “All employees undergo regular training so they can best support end-of-life care and the death of our residents.”

Leave a Comment