87-Year-Old Dies Because Nurse Refused To Suction His Airway: An investigation by the State of Iowa found that an 87-year-old resident of an Iowa nursing home who had a tracheostomy and was unable to perform self-care was nonetheless able to communicate with the nursing home staff when his tracheostomy needed suctioning so that he could breathe properly, by the resident pointing to his stoma. He had done so many times in the past and the nursing home staff had responded by suctioning his airway. The machine used for suctioning was placed beside his bed, and the procedure for suctioning was placed at the nurses station.
During the early morning on February 19, 2023, the resident was patting at his stoma to indicate that he needed suctioning, he was gasping for air, and he was mouthing that he could not breathe. The CNA left the resident’s room to get the nurse (LPN) to suction the resident’s airway, who came to his room and took his vitals. The nurse thought the resident was having a heart attack despite the CNA advising her that the resident had mouthed that it was difficult for him to breathe. The nurse left the room and returned with some supplies. The nurse took the resident’s blood pressure and attempted to obtain his oxygenation level, while the resident turned pale, purple, and then blue.
The nurse reportedly told the investigators that she was told that the resident needed to be suctioned but that she “was told that I would not have to do anything with the tracheostomy.” Ultimately, the nurse found the resident to have no blood pressure, no pulse, and no respirations. The nurse declared the resident dead.
The nurse reportedly told the investigators that she thought the resident was having a heart attack and it did not occur to her that he needed suctioning.
The nursing home states on its website:
“Fonda Specialty Care is a 46-bed skilled nursing facility offering rehabilitation services, skilled nursing care, long term care and hospice care. We are a part of Care Initiatives, Iowa’s largest not-for-profit skilled nursing and long term care provider.
Fonda Specialty Care is located in northwest Iowa. Fonda is a small, friendly and welcoming community, enabling us to provide a warm, home-like environment. Our devoted staff is able to provide individualized care to a wide variety of ages and abilities in our family-like home. While caring for residents is our first priority, we are also there to provide friendship and support to their families.
Our highly trained professional staff provides physical, occupational and speech therapies. Our rehabilitation goal for every resident is to enable them to return to their prior functional level and, when possible, ensure that they can safely return to their own home.
Fonda Specialty Care is committed to exceeding regulatory standards and customer and community expectations. We pledge support to our residents by providing an environment of dignity and respect. We specialize in caring for residents with special needs that cannot always be met at larger facilities.” (emphasis added)
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