Police seeking DNA after comatose woman has baby

PHOENIX — Police are collecting DNA samples from all male employees at a long-term care facility in Phoenix where a patient who was in a vegetative state for years gave birth, triggering reviews by state agencies and shining a spotlight on safety concerns for severely disabled or incapacitated patients.

Hacienda HealthCare, the company that owns the facility, said it welcomed the DNA testing of employees.

“We will continue to cooperate with Phoenix Police and all other investigative agencies to uncover the facts in this deeply disturbing, but unprecedented situation,” the company said in a statement.

The 29-year-old woman who gave birth has been in a vegetative state for more than 10 years after a near-drowning.

She remained in a vegetative state when she delivered the baby Dec. 29.

A lawyer for the woman’s family said her family was outraged at the “neglect of their daughter” and asked for privacy.

“The family would like me to convey that the baby boy has been born into a loving family and will be well cared for,” said John

Micheaels, a Phoenix attorney.

A spokesman for Hacienda HealthCare said investigators served a search warrant to obtain DNA samples from all male staffers.

In a statement, board member Gary Orman said the facility “will accept nothing less than a full accounting of this absolutely horrifying situation.”

Bill Timmons, Hacienda’s CEO, stepped down Monday.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s office has called the situation “deeply troubling.”

The Hacienda facility serves infants, children and young adults who are “medically fragile” or have developmental disabilities, according to its website. In the wake of the reports, the Arizona Department of Health Services said new safety measures have been implemented. They include increased staff presence during any patient interaction, more monitoring of patient care areas and additional security measures involving visitors.

The state’s online complaint database for care facilities shows multiple complaints about Hacienda de Los Angeles going back to 2013. Most of them involve fire drill and evacuation preparation or Medicaid eligibility. But one complaint from December 2013 outlines an allegation that a staff member made inappropriate sexual comments about four patients two months earlier.

ROSS D. FRANKLIN / ASSOCIATED PRESS The revelation that a Phoenix woman in a vegetative state recently gave birth has put spotlight on the safety of long-term care settings for patients who are severely disabled or incapacitated.