911 call: Nurse refuses to perform CPR on elderly woman

LA Times

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Bakersfield fire dispatcher Tracey Halvorson pleaded with the woman on the other end of the line, begging her to start CPR on an elderly woman who was barely breathing. “It’s a human being,” Halvorson said, speaking quickly. “Is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?”

The woman paused. “Um, not at this time.” On a 911 tape released by the Bakersfield Fire Department, the woman on the other end of the line told Halvorson that she was a nurse at Glenwood Gardens, a senior living facility in Bakersfield. But on Tuesday, the nurse refused to give the woman CPR, saying it was against the facility’s policy for staff to do so, according to the tape.

The elderly woman was identified by KGET-TV (Channel 17) as 87-year-old Lorraine Bayless. She died Tuesday at Mercy Hospital Southwest, KGET reported. In the tape, a different Glenwood Gardens employee said that an elderly woman had passed out in the facility’s dining room while eating.

Full story: Nurse refused to give CPR to elderly woman who later died