Patient Dies at Nursing Home

Beth Janicek

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 395

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Felicia Ann Engle of Boaz, 20 years old, was placed in Golden Living Center due to terminal kidney disease.  Her elderly father was unable to take care of her needs.  On April 3, 2008 at approximately 3:00 p.m. she began yelling for the nurses to come help her as she was in excruciating pain. 

The Golden Living Center in Alabama allowed 20 year old Felicia Ann Engle to scream for help for over six hours.  She died after her continual screams for help went unanswered.  At a minimum, nursing homes must be able to provide staff who can manage a resident’s pain.  Many residents have medical conditions which cannot be cured but they need to at a minimum be kept comfortable.  It is disturbing that some nursing homes are so poorly staffed that they do not have enough nurses or enough well trained nurses to care for the resident’s most basic needs such as pain control. 

Now involved in the case is the United States Department of Health and Human Services.  They have issued a statement stating that the Golden Living Center would not receive Medicare and Medicaid payments which will become effective today.   If the US Department of Health and Human Services became more involved in cases such as these and cut Medicare and Medicaid payments to these facilities it would make these facilities more accountable.