Workers at a nursing home on Long Island, N.Y., pronounced an 82-year-old woman dead on Saturday — but nearly three hours later, staff at a funeral home discovered the woman was still alive and breathing.
State officials say they're looking into how the nursing home, the Water's Edge Rehab and Nursing Center in Port Jefferson, handled the incident.
"This is an awful situation that has caused unnecessary trauma for the impacted resident and her loved ones," a spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James told NPR.
Suffolk County Police say the woman was pronounced dead at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday. A little more than two hours later, she was transported to the O.B. Davis Funeral Homes in Miller Place, just east of Port Jefferson. All went according to routine — but then the woman was discovered breathing at 2:09 p.m. She was taken to a local hospital.
"We do not have info on her condition," the police department said on Tuesday, responding to NPR's request for an update. The agency didn't release the woman's name or any details about whether she has family in the area.
Shortly after 2 p.m., the woman was found to be alive and breathing. An ambulance took her to a hospital.
Port Jefferson residents said it's an outrageous situation.
"It's a horror. That's a nightmare situation," one person said.
"Who's checking to see if they're dead or not?" another person asked.
"It's bizarre! In this day and age it's bizarre," said another.
"It's sad, sad for the family and everybody involved," said another. The nursing home declined our request for an interview and did not return phone messages.
Suffolk Police said they turned the case over to the New York State Health Department and Attorney General's Office. Both offices confirmed they are investigating.
"This is an awful situation that has caused unnecessary trauma for the impacted resident and her loves ones," said a spokesperson for Attorney General Letitia James.
"The public health law in New York actually says, 'Hey, there's rights and duties that you have to have in these nursing homes,' and I'm sure that's why the AG is investigating," said legal analyst Andrew Leib. "After the heart stops, which is how we define death, there is a phenomenon referred to autoresuscitation," said NYU Langone's Dr. Sam Parnia.
After death is declared, the brain in some cases produces surging hormones of adrenaline and steroids, said Parnia.
"The body will bring itself back to life again because it has these inherent mechanisms that it fights to the very end and it tries to preserve itself," he said.
It's unclear what happened in the Port Jefferson case. The woman's name and her current condition were not disclosed.
The funeral home said, respecting privacy and confidentiality, they are not in a position to comment.
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