Baby son of care-facility rape victim also a victim
The comatose woman raped at Hacienda Healthcare isn’t the only victim of a crime. So, too, is her infant son.
Somewhere out there is a rapist who belongs in a cage. If there is a more venal crime than sexually assaulting a woman in a coma, it is hard to imagine.
It also is hard to imagine that the Hacienda’s staff did not notice that the 29-year-old patient was pregnant. That negligence, however, not only has allowed a sick criminal to roam free — raising the possibility of more victims — but it also may have done irreparable harm to the victim’s baby.
In the initial 911 call about the baby being born, we hear that the child is not breathing and nurses are performing chest compression and trying to revive him. Around four minutes into the call, the baby was resuscitated.
Those minutes of not breathing may result in trouble for the child later in life.
So, too, might all the various medications the comatose woman may have been on.
Phoenix 3TV/CBS 5 spoke to a doctor about that. He told the station, “Phenobarbital, 90 milligrams. Twice a day for seizures. That’s a lot of phenobarbital. That would put most people to sleep most of the time.”
He added that that, combined with other medications the comatose woman was on, could spell significant developmental problems for the child.
When asked to estimate the chances of such trouble, the doctor said, “Eighty percent. That’s off the top of my head but I wouldn’t lower it below that,” adding that the problem would be ... “huge. Not just a problem, huge. And if this baby grows up just slightly delayed, that would be a miracle.”
The Arizona Republic reported that Hacienda had been under criminal investigation two years ago over allegations of overbilling the state for millions, and that state regulators wanted to remove developmentally disabled patients from the facility.
Gov. Doug Ducey’s office issued a statement saying, “We are considering alternate options such as bringing in a third party to assume responsibility for the ongoing management of Hacienda.”
An attorney representing the patient’s relatives said, “The family obviously is outraged, traumatized and in shock by the abuse and neglect of their daughter at Hacienda Healthcare.” I can’t imagine.
The family sounds strong and committed, however, in a way that will benefit the baby. But many of these problems could perhaps have been avoided, or at least minimized, were it not for the colossal negligence of the Hacienda staff.
That’s not just a shame.
It should be a crime.