A unit of an Arizona nursing facility, where a female patient in along-term vegetative state gave birth to a child,will soon officially close its doors.
Hacienda HealthCare officials announced in a statement on Thursday that the intermediate care unit in their Phoenix facility would be shutting down after a Feb. 1 vote from their board of directors.
They also mentioned their plan to transition their patients and staffers to other facilities in the area over the next few months.
Ross D Franklin/AP/REX/Shutterstock
“We will continue to work with these agencies in the weeks and months ahead to ensure an appropriate and safe transition moving forward,” it continued. “The care of our patients remains our top priority and we will do everything in our power to ensure a smooth transition for them and their families.”
Though theimmediate care facility— currently tending to 37 patients — will be closing its doors, the larger skilled nursing facility is planning to stay open, the Associated Pressreports.
The facility — which cares for intellectually or developmentally disabled individuals who require a high level of medical attention, ranging from babies to young adults — also issued a memo to its staff members.
According to the outlet, the memo also said that in thewake of the incident, they were forced to make a “complex set of changes to virtually every aspect of how Hacienda does business, following directives from multiple state agencies.”
RELATED VIDEO:Woman In Vegetative State Gives Birth Press Conference
In the documents, it said the woman “lacks sufficient understanding and mental capacity to make decisions or give consents for her medical, placement or financial estate” and suffers from quadriplegia, recurrent pneumonia and a seizure disorder.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Google Maps
Though many were pleased with the decision to close the immediate care facility on Thursday, others were not as thrilled.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security suggested officials find a different solution, referring to the decision as “disturbing news,” according to the AP. The department’s spokeswoman Tasya Peterson added to that statement in an email toThe Arizona Republic.
“We want to find a path forward that is in the best interests of the patients — and this approach is not it,” shetold the outlet. “State agencies are exhausting all efforts to bring this to a conclusion that is beneficial to the patients, some of whom have been at this facility nearly their entire lives.”
“They are the ones who should come first, without question,” she added. “This approach simply does not meet that test.”
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey also shared his disapproval on the decision and critiqued the facility for not prioritizing the patients’ best interests.
“For some patients at the facility, this is the only home they know or remember,” Ducey’s spokesman Patrick Ptak toldThe Arizona Republic. “Forcing this medically fragile community to move should be a last resort. Everyone’s first priority should be protecting their health and safety.”
source: people.com
