Iowa woman pronounced dead was sent to funeral home where workers found her 'gasping for air' inside cloth bag

An Alzheimer's care center in Iowa is facing a large fine after it reportedly sent a woman believed to be dead to a funeral home where workers later found her gasping for air inside a cloth bag.

A report from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals said the woman was pronounced dead at the Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Center in Urbandale by a licensed practical nurse at 6 a.m. on Jan. 3.

A funeral director picked the woman up at about 7:30 a.m. and observed no signs of life. She was placed in a cloth bag and dropped off at the Ankeny Funeral Home and Crematory.

The report said an employee at the funeral home opened the bag and saw that the woman's chest was moving.

Then the woman gasped for air.

KCCI-TV obtained a recording of a first responder calling dispatch from a funeral home.

"Umm, just so you know, this female was transported there deceased, and she is not. They are in the chapel, and she is on a cot," said the woman on the recording.

The report said that EMS personnel responded and found the woman had a pulse and was breathing, but they couldn't get a verbal response or detect eye movement.

She was reportedly hospitalized and died two days later with her family present.

The report said that Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Center was cited for two violations related to the matter and fined $10,000.

Lisa Eastman, executive director of Glen Oaks, send a statement to KCCI on Wednesday.

"We have been in close communication with the family of the resident, and we just completed an investigation by the Department of Inspections and Appeals regarding the matter," said Eastman.

"We care deeply for our residents and remain fully committed to supporting their end-of-life care," she added. "All employees undergo regular training so they can best support end-of-life care and the death of our residents."

Here's more about the harrowing incident:

Woman thought to be dead found alive at Ankeny funeral homewww.youtube.com

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