DNA tests for staff at care facility after birth

Police served a search warrant to get DNA from all male employees at a longterm care facility in Phoenix where a patient who had been in a vegetative state for years gave birth.

The incident has triggered reviews by state agencies and put a spotlight on safety concerns for patients who are severely disabled or incapacitated.

Hacienda HealthCare 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.

Local news website Azfamily.com first reported the woman, who had been in a vegetative state for more than 10 years after a near-drowning, delivered a baby on December 29. It’s unclear if staff members at the Hacienda de Los Angeles facility were aware of the pregnancy until the birth.

The woman has been identified as a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

Tribal officials say the 29-year-old woman was still in a coma when she gave birth.

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

“We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of every single one of our patients and our employees,” Orman said.

Hacienda CEO Bill Timmons stepped down on Tuesday, spokesman David Leibowitz said. The decision was unanimously accepted by the provider’s board of directors.

The Hacienda facility serves infants, children and young adults who are “medically fragile” or have developmental disabilities, according to the 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.

Martin Solomon, a personal injury lawyer in Phoenix whose clients are mostly vulnerable adult victims of abuse and neglect, said a lawyer representing this woman should call for all pertinent medical records, a list of current and ex-employees and any past litigation involving Hacienda. It would be the police who would lead DNA testing to figure out who fathered the baby, Solomon said.