San Carlos Apache leader 'horrified' by incapacitated tribal member's pregnancy at facility

The chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe in southeastern Arizona says he is horrified and wants justice served for the incapacitated tribal member who became pregnant while a resident at a Phoenix nursing facility.

The tribe says the patient is a 29-year-old woman. She gave birth to a baby boy while still in the Hacienda HealthCare facility on Dec. 29.

"On behalf of the tribe, I am deeply shocked and horrified at the treatment of one of our members," San Carlos Apache Chairman Terry Rambler said in a statement. 

"When you have a loved one committed to palliative care, when they are most vulnerable and dependent on others, you trust their caretakers. Sadly, one of her caretakers was not to be trusted and took advantage of her. It is my hope that justice will be served."

Officials with the San Carlos Apache Police Department say they will assist the Phoenix Police Department in any way possible to find the perpetrator.

Phoenix police first became aware of the situation when they responded to a report of an infant who had coded at Hacienda de Los Angeles, 1402 E. South Mountain Ave.  at 3:42 p.m. on Dec. 29.

When officers arrived, they found an incapacitated woman who had delivered a baby. Both were then transported to a local hospital, a police report says. A sexual assault investigation is ongoing, police say.

The woman's family released a statement through Phoenix lawyer John Micheaels this week, saying the baby boy was born into a loving family and will be well cared for.

In its statement, the family said they are "outraged, traumatized and in shock" and not emotionally ready to make a public statement.

Phoenix police on Tuesday served a search warrant on the facility to get DNA samples of male employees.

Authorities say the woman who gave birth had been a resident at the facility for many years. AzFamily.com, the CBS affiliate that broke the story, has reported that the woman has been in the facility since a near-drowning more than 10 years ago.

William Timmons, a longtime top executive with Hacienda HealthCare, resigned Monday.

Detectives are appealing to the community for assistance in identifying the perpetrator. Anyone with information can contact the department's violent crimes bureau at 602-262-6141. To remain anonymous, contact Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS (480-948-6377) or 480-TESTIGO (480-837-8446) for Spanish.

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San Carlos Apache leader 'horrified' by incapacitated tribal member's pregnancy at facility

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Facility CEO resigns after woman in vegetative state gives birth; new allegations emerge

Patient in vegetative state gives birth, sex abuse investigation underway: report

Facility CEO resigns after woman in vegetative state gives birth; new allegations emerge

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The chief executive officer of Hacienda HealthCare resigned Monday, just days after a vegetative patient at a Hacienda nursing facility in Phoenix gave birth. Bill Timmons' resignation, which was unanimously accepted by Hacienda's board of directors, came as new allegations of past abuses emerged.

CBS Phoenix affiliate KPHO-TV was first to report on the birth.

Hacienda has been under intense scrutiny since the 29-year-old Native American woman had the healthy baby boy December 29, the station said. The patient has been in a vegetative state for 14 years, since a near-drowning incident, KPHO noted.

In a statement, Hacienda said Board Executive Vice President Gary Orman vowed that 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."

Orman said in the statement that Hacienda "will continue to cooperate with Phoenix Police and the investigating agencies at all levels in every way possible."

The station said it's learned that she was raped several times.

KPHO also spoke with a former Hacienda manager who said Timmons insisted that a 1988 incident of abuse of a different patient be covered up.

The manager said female nurses were standing around a nonverbal male patient's bed, talking inappropriately about his genitalia. The ex-manager said when that was addressed at a subsequent manager's meeting, Timmons slammed his fist on a table and said, 'No! No one is going to report this,"' even though the law required that state health officials be notified.

"I was scared," the ex-manager recalled. "Bill Timmons has a temper. And we knew not to mess with that temper because people got fired."

She said no one reported that incident solely out of fear, and she believes there's been other abuse throughout the years.

Parents of patients began coming forward, saying they had concerns about the facility's ability to keep their children safe.

Meanwhile, a state lawmaker is considering legislation to protect patients living at long-term healthcare facilities from abuse.

Rep. Jeff Weninger told KPHO one idea would be to allow families to install cameras in the rooms of their loved ones so they could be monitored remotely.

Louisiana passed a bill last year forbidding healthcare facilities from rejecting requests for cameras.

"You can hook these up through an Internet signal in nursing homes," Weninger said.

Weninger said he was in the early stages of looking at the issue.

Full Article & Source:
Facility CEO resigns after woman in vegetative state gives birth; new allegations emerge

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Patient in vegetative state gives birth, sex abuse investigation underway: report

Patient in vegetative state gives birth, sex abuse investigation underway: report

A woman who has been in a vegetative state since she nearly drowned 10 years ago has reportedly given birth to a baby last month, prompting a sex abuse investigation at the Phoenix-area nursing facility, AZ Family reported.

The baby was born on Dec. 29 and is doing well, according to the report. The woman is reportedly a patient at Hacienda HealthCare in Phoenix. A source familiar with the situation told AZ Family that "none of the staff were aware that she was pregnant until she was pretty much giving birth."

"From what I’ve been told she was moaning. And they didn’t know what was wrong with her," the source said.

The source told AZ Family that the patient required constant care and that many people had access to her room.

The facility has reportedly changed protocol after the Dec. 29 birth. Male staff needing to enter a female room are required to bring a female employee with them, the source said.

A Hacienda HealthCare nurse declined Fox News' request for comment because it would be a HIPPA violation and referred questions to the CEO of the nursing facility. Phoenix Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.

Hacienda issued a statement to AZ Family and said it has been in business in the valley for over 50 years and "has an outstanding reputation providing high quality specialized care for our patients."

"As a Healthcare provider, we cannot comment on any patient due to Federal and State privacy laws. Additionally, we cannot comment on any ongoing investigations. We can say that our patients and clients health and safety is our #1 priority and that we always cooperate, when asked by any agency, in an open and transparent way."

Authorities are investigating the facility for possible sex abuse, AZ Family reported. No further details were released.

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Patient in vegetative state gives birth, sex abuse investigation underway: report