Inspection Detail

Inspection: 311123228 - Healthcare Services Group

Inspection Information - Office: Indiana Department Of Labor

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:47 a.m. on June 20, 2007, an employee was found unresponsive on the floor of the laundry room of the Woodbridge nursing home located at 816 First Avenue in Evansville, Indiana. Employee #1 had been employed 17 years as a Laundry Aide. The laundry room was approximately 10 by 19 feet in the dryer room and 12 by 21 feet in the washer room. A coworker stated that she recognized that Employee #1 was in medical difficulty. The coworker stated that when she came upon Employee #1 in the laundry room, Employee #1 was sitting in a chair by a table with the lid off of a trash can, leaning over the can as if getting ready to vomit. The coworker left the room but returned, and Employee #1 wouldn't respond and was turning blue in the face and hands. The coworker then summoned emergency medical services (EMS) and attended Employee #1 until EMS personnel arrived. The patient care narrative stated that upon arrival the patient was found lying on the floor in the basement of the nursing home with the nursing home staff performing CPR, and that upon examination the patient was pulse less and apneic (without respirations). The patient was transported to Deaconess Hospital as soon as feasible. The patient care report indicated a medical history that included diabetes and heart disease. The cause of death was stated as unknown at that time and the patient was made a coroner's case. The cause of death was determined natural, and the deputy coroner elaborated that Employee #1 had a lengthy cardiac history and that she had been seeing a cardiologist for an extended period of time. The coroner determined that Employee #1's death was caused by reason of CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA DUE TO ATHEROSCLEROTIC CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE and that the manner of her death was natural.

Keywords: HEART, UNCONSCIOUSNESS