An 82-year-old woman who was pronounced dead at a New York nursing home was discovered alive three hours later at a funeral home Saturday.
Suffolk County police said the unnamed woman had been pronounced dead around 11:15 a.m. at the Water’s Edge Rehab and Nursing Center in Port Jefferson, New York, CNN reported. She was taken to O.B. Davis Funeral Home around 1:30 p.m., where personnel noticed she was still breathing around 45 minutes later, according to the outlet.
The woman was taken to a hospital, and there had been no update on her condition as of Monday, per CNN.
Suffolk County police and the New York State Health Department told the outlet they are still investigating the case.
“This is an awful situation that caused unnecessary trauma for the impacted resident and her loved ones,” the Office of the New York State Attorney General said in a statement to CNN. The case is being referred to the attorney general’s office for further investigation, according to police.
This is at least the second such incident in just over a month In January, a 66-year-old hospice resident in Iowa was found gasping for air inside a zipped body bag delivered to a funeral home. The hospice care facility is facing up to $10,000 in fines for the mistake. (RELATED: Care Facility Facing Fines After Woman Pronounced Dead Woke Up In A Bodybag At Funeral Home)
“We care deeply for our residents and remain fully committed to supporting their end-of-life care,” Lisa Eastman, director of the Iowa hospice care center, said in a statement to CBS. “All employees undergo regular training so they can best support end-of-life care and the death of our residents.”