…Now Police Want DNA From Men Who Work At Facility
A woman who has been in a coma for more than a decade gave birth
recently while in an Arizona care facility and now authorities are seeking DNA
from the male workers there.
The woman, who
gave birth to a boy on December 29, is a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe
and has long been in a vegetative state, the tribe's chairman said Tuesday. CNN
is not reporting the woman's name because she is the victim of sexual abuse.
"When you
have a loved one committed to palliative care, when they are most vulnerable and
dependent upon others, you trust their caretakers," chairman Terry Rambler
said.
Hacienda
HealthCare in Phoenix said police detectives served a search warrant Tuesday
seeking DNA from men who work there.
Police said they
didn't have any updates Tuesday but Sgt. Tommy Thompson said Friday there was
an ongoing investigation.
CNN affiliate KPHO/KTVK has
reported the woman has been in a vegetative state for 14 years, quoting a
source familiar with the situation. The woman has been a patient at this
facility for at least a decade following a near-drowning incident, the
Phoenix-based station quoted its source as saying.
"The
family obviously is outraged, traumatized and in shock by the abuse and neglect
of their daughter at Hacienda HealthCare," the family's attorney, John
Micheaels said. "The family would like me to convey that the baby boy has
been born into a loving family and will be well cared for."
Hacienda
officials have called the situation "a deeply disturbing incident"
and said they are cooperating with law enforcement and state agencies.
The company's
chief executive officer, Bill Timmons, resigned Monday.
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," said Gary Orman, executive vice president of Hacienda
HealthCare's board of directors.
Last week the
state's department of economic security sent investigators to the facility for
health and safety checks. Spokesman Brett Bezio said the work was finished but
didn't give any details about the results of the visits with patients.
The department
of health ordered Hacienda to implement "heightened safety measures,"
spokeswoman Melissa Blasius-Nuanez said. - CNN
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