Woman Killed at Tacoma Nursing Home

Shannon Weidemann

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The death of a patient at a Tacoma nursing home has been ruled a homicide and the family has moved foward with a wrongful death lawsuit citing abuse by the nursing home. The victim was a patient at Nisqually Valley Care Center. She had been at a local hospital being treated for pneumonia and then was transferred to the nursing home to further her care. The nursing home is accused of administering more morphine than prescribed by her doctor.

An autopsy by the chief Pierce County medical examiner, John Howard, M.D., ruled that Pierpoint died of "acute morphine poisoning." In his declaration, Howard states that "there is no indication in the patient's record that the level and dosage and frequency of administration, sometimes on the hour, was justified." Howard classified the death as a homicide.

Howard goes on to note that two of the symptoms of morphine poisoning are restlessness and agitation.

The first registered nurse only administered tylenol to the patient for pain relief and noted that she did well on that. It is unknown why the nursing home staff adminstered so much morphine to the patient.