A 911 dispatcher pleaded with a nurse at a Bakersfield, Calif., senior living facility to save the life of an elderly woman by giving her CPR, but the nurse said policy did not allow her to, according to a newly released audiotape of the call.

"Is there anybody there that's willing to help this lady and not let her die?" the dispatcher asked in a recording of the 911 call released by the Bakersfield Fire Department.

"Not at this time," the nurse said.

The incident unfolded on Tuesday when 87-year-old Lorraine Bayless collapsed at Glenwood Gardens, a senior living facility in Bakersfield.

In the seven-minute, 16-second recording, the nurse told the dispatcher it was against the facility's policy for employees to perform CPR on residents.

With every passing second, Bayless' chances of survival were diminishing. The dispatcher's tone turned desperate.

"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."

After several minutes, an ambulance arrived and took Bayless to Mercy Southwest Hospital, where she died.

Glenwood Gardens released a statement confirming its policy prohibiting employees from performing CPR.

"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," the statement said.

Despite protocol being followed, the nursing home said it would launch an internal investigation into the matter.

and thats why i hate people, there retarded

Did you know that most of the time giving someone CPR breaks a their rib cage? I wouldn't want it done to me, as well as all that other "life saving" nonsense. If I cannot be saved with drugs, just pump me up with pain meds and let me die.

And you know what? Most doctors feel the same way. So, before you judge them too harshly, listen to this podcast.

http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2013/jan/15/bitter-end/

It wont play in my phone. Back to the OP. I know that it can break a ribcage that is if the one who give the cpr is not taught to do it properly. Its no excuse that they are just following the policy. They take the profession of saving people.

On the elderly more damage can be done giving CPR to them than good. I could just see a 250lb. fireman doing CPR on her. We all gotta go one day.

Still a sad commentary on our society today.

There are Good Samaritan Laws to protect those that try to help someone and perform CPR. Maybe California's law is different than my state's law.

The 911 operator was telling the nurse the emergency unit would take full responsibility and that the good Samaritan law protected them. All to no avail, I heard it on CNN.

I don't understand how the emergency unit could take responsibility if it was not performed at their ER. Just does not make sense to me.

I don't know either.

She was 87 years old. At some point a body quits working and becomes non-functioning. When that time comes, it is kinder to let them pass in peace. I think that that the nurse on scene made the correct choice.

the nurse on the scene followed company policy. The call was 7 minutes long. The EMR got there pretty quickly. Why didn't they do CPR when they arrived? Or did they?

I don't think she made the right choice, but then perhaps she is in a position where she cannot risk losing her job.

Most nursing homes here have a no code policy.

but anybody trained in CPR, like a fireman, would have training as to how much pressure to apply with their hands. they don't lean on the body.

Almost all elderly in nursing homes or their next of kin are asked to sign a living will that states whether or not extraordinary means are to be used.

If that nursing home had such a policy, then residents should all have been informed of that. You have to ask yourself, is CPR "extraordinary means"? It was unheard of years ago, so maybe.

Nursing homes in my opinion is are warehouses for people to go and be taken care of until they die. Most of the residents are not going to be getting better.

This is true.

I can also see that many of you simply didn't listen to the podcast I linked to or even bother to read the information. Okay, assume they had preformed CPR on her and "saved her life." How long would she have lived after that? Two months? That's about how long the average person lives after CPR is performed on them. What would have been the quality of of those final days?

Medicine has reached a point where they can keep a body alive indefinitely. CPR, feeding tubes, ventilation, IV hydration and so on. But, at what cost? Should you spend your life's savings keeping your spouse alive just so they can lay in a hospital bed and watch TV assuming they are even conscious?

Many doctors wear a DOR (do not resuscitate) tag around their necks because they know the truth. That these life saving tricks aren't like TV shows. People simply do not get any better after they're done and allowing them to die is often the kinder option.

Yes if you are just slowly dying, getting worse and worse, growing bed sores, fighting infections, trying to breath, then what is the point of prolonging that suffering if you are never going to get better or have any quality of life at all?

Most "nursing homes" are just one step up from hospice centers.

How much is enough to be effective?

Now a Defibrillator, that will get those old folks up and running in no time.

according to cbs news this was not a nursing home but an indepenant living facility

and it is told to those that apply for admittance that they do not do cpr

not to mention maybe the tenant had an order not to do recovery as well but that was not mentioned any where i read


oh well is what it is i guess

-------------------------------------------------------------

cbs news

The Glenwood Gardens Retirement Facility released a statement saying it's "conducting a thorough review" but that, "...our practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives."

An industry spokeswoman tells CBS News that's likely because this was an independent living facility -- not assisted living.



http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505269_162-57572300/911-call-reveals-nurse-refused-to-give-dying-woman-cpr/