Days after apatient in a long-term vegetative state gave birthin an Arizona nursing facility, prompting a criminal investigation andgrowing concern from other patients’ families, the CEO of the facility has quit.
In the same statement, Gary Orman, executive vice president of the board, said Hacienda “will accept nothing less than a full accounting of this absolutely horrifying situation, an unprecedented case that has devastated everyone involved, from the victim and her family to Hacienda staff at every level of our organization.”
Former Hacienda HealthCare CEO Bill Timmons.Hacienda HealthCare
A patient is considered in a vegetative state when he or she is awake but not showing signs of awareness, according to theMayo Clinic.
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Leibowitz earlier told PEOPLE that Hacienda was cooperating with law enforcement, but declined to divulge the exact nature of the underlying incident.
TheNew York TimesandNBC Newseach reported that Phoenix police had opened an investigation into allegations involving the facility, but police would not discuss the details of the case or how long they had been looking into it.
Parents of patients at the Phoenix health care facility say they want answers.
“Everybody was up in shock,” Karina Cesena, whose 22-year-old daughter, Jazzmyne, is a patient at the Hacienda Healthcare facility, toldCBS News. “Trust has been broken and severed completely.”
“A lot of people are mad — my family included,” Gary Londer told the outlet.
“My heart hurts, my chest hurts. I haven’t been able to sleep well at night because of what occurred here,” a mother, Angela Gomez, told CBS.
Orman tried to calm those concerns with his statement Monday on behalf of the facility’s board of directors.
“I want to assure our patients, their loved ones, our community partners, the agencies we do business with, Gov. Ducey and the residents of Arizona, we will continue to cooperate with Phoenix police and the investigating agencies at all levels in every way possible,” he said.
“And we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of every single one of our patients and our employees.”
source: people.com
