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A New York nursing home is under investigation after a woman was pronounced dead only to be found breathing a few hours later at a funeral home on Saturday.
The incident happened at the Water’s Edge Rehab and Nursing Center in Port Jefferson, the Suffolk County Police Department tells PEOPLE in a statement. The woman, 82, was pronounced dead at 11:15 a.m. and transported to the O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Miller Place at 1:30 p.m. She was later discovered breathing at 2:09 p.m., according to the Suffolk County police.
She was transported to a local hospital, according to Suffolk County police. They did not provide an update on her status on Monday.
Suffolk County police tell PEOPLE they referred the case to the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
“This is anawful situationthat has caused unnecessary trauma for the impacted resident and her loved ones,” a spokesperson for the AG’s office told PEOPLE. “The Office of the Attorney General is looking into the incident.”
Water’s Edge Rehab and Nursing Center in Port Jefferson, on the north shore of Long Island, did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment on Monday, but the nursing home told WABC News in New York, that, “Out of respectfor the privacy and confidentiality of the families, we are honored to serve, we are not in a position to comment further on this matter.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, Department of Health Public Information Officer Monica Pomeroy said: “Upon learning of this incident, the New York State Department of Health has begun an investigation. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment at this time.”
A similar incident happened in Iowa on Jan. 3 when a 66-year-old woman began togasp for airafter the body bag she was in was unzipped at a funeral home there.
The woman was taken to the hospital and then re-released to the care center, where she died two days later.
source: people.com
