Arden Hills Nursing Home Fights Maltreatment Ruling

ARDEN HILLS - The state has accused an Arden Hills nursing home of maltreatment, after an elderly woman injured her neck and died. Now the nursing home is fighting the allegations.

A Minnesota Department of Health report has ruled that "maltreatment" led to the spring 2008 injury and subsequent death of an elderly care patient. But what the investigation failed to reveal was what caused the injury – or who's responsible.

The elderly woman was a patron of Presbyterian Homes in Arden Hills. She suffered a broken neck on April 17, and died ten days later. She first complained of neck pain and a severe headache, then the next day, a family member says she was "screaming in pain" when she moved her neck.

By April 19, a staff member found a bump on the woman's head, and she was sent to the hospital. A doctor discovered a significant fracture to the cervical spine, suggesting some type of fall or trauma earlier in the week.

The break happened at the C2 vertebrae, near the base of the skull. HCMC's William Larson did not treat the woman, but says weak bones in the elderly often contribute to fractures.

"As we get older, the amount of force, the amount of trauma that would be associated with a fracture, can be significantly less."

Larson says the injury is usually related to a hyper-extension of the neck. In this case, the elderly woman's family decided against surgery, and she died April 29 in hospice care.

Presbyterian Homes campus director calls this an "unfortunate incident," and filed a letter asking the state to reconsider it's finding of maltreatment, saying, "There is no substantial evidence as to the cause of injury."

The letter also suggests the fracture could've been caused by an "accident," not neglect or abuse.

The report is now under state review, and Presbyterian Homes is still under scrutiny. The home denies any maltreatment.

Read the report