California woman dies after nurse refuses to do CPR

Health » Nurse cited independent living home’s policy of not intervening in emergencies.

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"I understand if your boss is telling you, you can’t do it," the dispatcher said. "But ... as a human being ... you know, is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?"

"Not at this time," the nurse answered.

Halvorson assured the nurse that Glenwood couldn’t be sued if anything went wrong in attempts to resuscitate the resident, saying the local emergency medical system "takes the liability for this call."

Later in the call, Halvorson asked, "Is there a gardener? Any staff, anyone who doesn’t work for you? Anywhere? Can we flag someone down in the street and get them to help this lady? Can we flag a stranger down? I bet a stranger would help her."

"I understand if your facility is not willing to do that. Give the phone to a passer-by. This woman is not breathing enough. She is going to die if we don’t get this started, do you understand?"

The woman had no pulse and wasn’t breathing when fire crews reached her, Galagaza said.

Sgt. Jason Matson of the Bakersfield Police Department said its investigation so far had not revealed criminal wrongdoing, but the probe is continuing.

First responders say often it’s hard to find someone willing to provide CPR in an emergency.

"It’s not uncommon to have someone refuse to provide CPR if they physically can’t do it, or they’re so upset they just can’t function," Kern County Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael Miller said. "What made this one unique was the way the conversation on the phone went. It was just very frustrating to anyone listening to it, like, why wasn’t anyone helping this poor woman, since CPR today is much simpler than it was in the past?"

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