Nursing Home Resident Died From Overfeeding, Report Finds

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(St. Louis Post Dispatch) – A resident of a north St. Louis County nursing home choked and died in July after the patient was fed through a tube in 30 minutes instead of the one hour that was prescribed, according to a federal report.

A nurse, working his or her first day at St. Louis Place Health and Rehabilitation, failed to check on the patient, perform CPR and call 911, as required by the patient’s medical record and the nursing home’s policies, investigators with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found during an August inspection. The home was cited for placing residents in immediate jeopardy and could be fined for the incident.

The patient, who is not identified in the report by age or gender, was in a vegetative state after being struck by a car in April. The patient moved into the nursing home at 2600 Redman Road on July 14 and died nine days later. There was no do-not-resuscitate order in the patient’s record, the report states. CONTINUE