Ohio nursing home submits safety plans after woman wanders and dies

SAGAMORE HILLS, Ohio (AP) — A northeastern Ohio assisted living facility where a 94-year-old woman wandered outside and died of hypothermia has submitted a plan to state regulators to address problems that investigators said contributed to the woman’s death.

The body of Martha Jendrix was found Jan. 19 by a snow plow driver outside Elmcroft of Sagamore Hills, about 20 miles south of Cleveland. Police said Jendrix wandered outside and collapsed. A coroner later ruled she died of hypothermia caused by exposure to the cold.

The facility’s plan includes a new door alert system, reassessment of patients’ risk of wandering, retraining on missing patient procedure and informal rounds by management.

The Northeast Ohio Media Group and WEWS -TV report Elmcroft also suspended one employee who had falsely documented that she had checked on Jendrix.