Cops: No charges after home’s refusal to give CPR

Cops: No charges after home’s refusal to give CPR

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — No criminal charges will be filed after a care worker’s attention-grabbing refusal to perform CPR on a resident of a Central California independent-living facility, police said.

The Bakersfield Police Department said Wednesday it has closed its investigation into the death of Lorainne Bayless, 87, who died Feb. 26 at Glenwood Gardens while a nurse there refused a 911 dispatcher’s pleas to administer CPR.

The public release of the 7-minute recording caused national outrage, fueled further when the facility’s owner claimed the nurse acted appropriately.

On Tuesday, Tennessee-based Brookdale Senior Living Inc. reversed itself and said the unidentified employee had misinterpreted the company’s guidelines and was on voluntary leave while the case is investigated.

Nonetheless, Bayless’ family said it was her desire to forgo resuscitation efforts and that she died of natural causes, which her family said was her “greatest wish.” The family said it has no intentions of suing the company or seeking punishment for its workers.