Barbara Parcel died last March because her nursing home didn’t call the 911 responders that were minutes away, but instead contacted a hired company that was much farther away. That company’s EMS unit arrived too late to save Mrs. Parcel, who died from a heart attack there at Indiana’s Kindred Healthcare’s Wildwood Healthcare. Her friend, Elsie, was a witness to the events and reported that it took over an hour for the EMS ambulance to show up in order to transport Mrs. Parcel to the hospital.
Local news reporters (13 Investigates) first discovered that the nursing home had never called 911, which would have brought nearby paramedics to the scene; instead Wildwood Healthcare called the private ambulance company with which it had a contract. We can assume it was cheaper for Wildwood to call the contract service than to call the 911 service. You can read the March 2011 expose online here.
Indiana State Senator Patricia Miller Pushes Senate Bill 0224 as New Indiana Law for Nursing Homes
Responding to the tragic story of Barbara Parcel, Indiana State Senator Patricia Miller authored and presented a bill which should become law in the State of Indiana. You can read the proposed law as she wrote it here.
If passed, this law will require nursing homes to forego their bottom line and to call to get the fastest emergency medical services team in place. Which is good news for everyone who either lives in an assisted facility or who has a loved one residing in a nursing home.
You can track the bill as it moves through the Indiana Legislature here.
Indiana Courts Are Already At the Ready to Right Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
Nursing homes have a legal duty to care for those that reside at their facilities. If they fail to meet that duty, just as a doctor fails in his care of a patient or a hospital commits an error in care, they can be found legally responsible for the wrongful death of their resident.
These laws are already on the books for Indiana victims and their families. They are made the basis of a personal injury lawsuit filed against the nursing home and anyone else that has contributed to the harm.
