An Ohio woman who died of hypothermia was reportedly outside her nursing home for eight hours before her body was discovered.
Phyllis Campbell, 76, died on Jan. 7 from hypothermia after she wandered out of the Hilty Memorial Home in Pandora, Ohio, ABC 57 News reports. Staff members didn’t realize that she was missing for eight hours, and later found her body frozen in the courtyard just 30 feet from the door.
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A coroner ruled that Campbell likely died within two hours of going outside, where temperatures were hovering around zero.
An investigation into the 76-year-old’s death found that Campbell suffered from dementia and had wandered into the courtyard where she died at least two times during that same week. The investigation also found that Campbell had wandered out of her room several times on the day that she died, telling a nurse’s aide that she was “going home.”
Campbell had been wearing a monitor that should have detected when she was wandering the building, but tests revealed the sensor on the device didn’t always work. The door to the courtyard also had an alarm on it that should sound constantly for 90 seconds when opened.
Two nurse’s aides told investigators that they had not performed their scheduled checks that night even though they had been marked as completed.
Lara Voth, chief executive of Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio, said that the nursing home has since made changes to safety procedures.
“Let me restate that we are deeply saddened by this loss. We are grieving for the family and extend our heart-felt sympathy to them,” she said.
Four employees at the nursing home had initially been put on leave, but it was reported on Wednesday that they are no longer employed with the organization.
