Lorraine Bayless, an 87 year-old resident at Glenwood Gardens retirement facility in Bakersfield, CA, died this week due to the facility nurse's refusal to perform CPR on her. After witnessing Mrs. Bayless collapse, the nurse immediately dialed 911, but could not follow through with the operators orders to perform CPR. According to the website SFGate.com, "The retirement facility released a statement extending its condolences to the family and said its "practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives." So in other words, just stick close and keep an eye on the situation until backup arrives.
I comment on this article due to the fact that so often people forget to do the right thing in fear of consequences; job loss being the main concern. Every company has rules and guidelines in order for the business to run smoothly, but sometimes these rules have to be broken when the health and safety of another human being is at stake. This touched my heart deeply, and I feel bad not only for the deceased family, but also for the nurse who was put in this awful predicament. God bless both families, as healing is gonna be needed on both sides.
So, fellow bloggers, what do you think? If something like this happen to you at work, would you follow the rules, or would you act?
Hi Jewel,
ReplyDeleteIt is a tough call. As a nurse we have a protocol we must follow otherwise we are not protected. Yes, we have malpractice insurance but protocol must be followed. Also, it depends on where you work, every facility has a different requirement. In additional nursing homes and retirement facilities do not always hire nurses (RNs). People automatically assume the staff is a nurse but in most cases they are not. That is the reason why they are so limited. It is scary performing CPR because if a person does not have the consent from the person who needs CPR they can be sued. Great post.
Hey,
ReplyDeleteThis is a toughy... Honestly, I agree with Yasmeen but, at the same time I think it would be beneficial to have an RN on site so that the staff can have less time to wait for certified personal to assist with the situation at hand. If that was the case then perhaps more lives would be saved. I would imagine that is not the most economic solution to this problem but, it all comes down to how much you are willing to invest in your safety and well being. Thought provoking post.
Hi Jewel,
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good question. I think it is important to follow job protocol but I feel if the nurse felt competent enough to perform CPR than she should have done that and followed the 911 operators instructions. At the same time, I don't believe anyone is necessarily to be blamed for this predicament, but if an RN is unavailable for whatever reason the regular staff should be CPR certified and be able to perform such tasks in case of emergency.
Hey Jewel,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying that people do often forget what is right in fear of the consequences. For me if something like this did happen at my work, no doubt would I try my hardest to follow the operators instructions to preform CPR. I know that it may have been a tough task for the nurse but trying to save a life is better than just waiting "for back up" to arrive.
This is a very interesting story, I heard a bit about this. But it seems almost fishy to me that the nurse "could not follow through with the operator's orders to perform CPR"....She COULDN'T? As in, she physically was not able to do so? Or she didn't want to?
ReplyDeleteBut if she truly was doing it in order to protect her job it's understandable, but not necessarily excusable, in my opinion. Overall a retirement facility which holds such policies as this one obviously did, seems almost lacking in common sense to me. Isn't that the reason why there are nurses and medical staff at such places as these? Because the elderly are extremely likely, obviously, to be on the verge of death, and isn't that why they have nurses on staff for situations exactly like this one? Otherwise, anyone at all can work at retirement homes, as long as they are physically capable of dialing 9-1-1.
*Sigh. It just doesn't seem right to me. But yes Jewel, thank you for sharing this recent bit of news with us. :)
Hi Jewel,
ReplyDeleteI understand your sympathy and I too feel awful for the family and the nurse having to go through this situation. However, Im pretty sure that it is now "illegal" to perform CPR on people you don't know or don't have relation to. Don't quote me on that because Im not entirely too sure but I remember someone telling me they have changed the rules to that because there were so many lawsuits against good samaritans who tried CPR and the person still died. The family would then blame the person who attempted CPR saying they did it wrong, if they knew what they were doing then my loved one wouldn't have passed. This is an interesting topic because I would assume in most cases if someone did need immediate CPR waiting for 911 or an ambulance may not be the smartest nor most efficient way to help save that persons life. But on the other hand if it was me who was stuck in that predicament I think I would follow the rules and call 911 because not only can I not afford to lose a job over a stranger I certainly cannot afford a lawsuit from the grieving family because I may or may not have done it incorrectly.
Good stuff Jewel,
ReplyDeletefor some reason it doesn't really surprise me that much. Elderly homes have always been known for harboring unfair and malicious treatment to seniors citizens. for this "nurse" to watch over these elderly people and stand back when she truly should have done something?? is truly disappointing, and beyond my understanding. This is a great story and it really draws in the human interest of an audience, because everyone has (or at least had a grandma or grandpa). It grabbed my attention because it portrayed how these establishments may be still treating the elderly.
Hey Jewel, I also thought this story was very interesting. It is hard to put myself in the caretaker's shoes without having experienced the situation. However I think it would be very difficult not to act in that scenario. I think Dina made a good point that the fear of loosing your job is understandable, but not necessarily excusable. If I were in the health care field I might try to avoid working for a company with this kind of policy.
ReplyDelete