Scared family removing 81-year-old from senior facility



PUYALLUP, Wash. -- Joe Black said his mother, Margie, had an episode that required medical attention on Sunday at Clare Bridge in Puyallup.

And, much like in a 911 call that was heard round the country where a 911 dispatcher in California pleading with an employee at a Brookdale Senior Living center to give CPR to a dying resident, Black doesn't know what the nurses did to help his mother.

“You’re not getting what you’re paying for,” Black said. “It’s really sad what they’re doing, and I’m not happy. The family’s not happy.”

Brookdale Senior Living owns and operates several facilities in Washington state, including Clare Bridge in Puyallup. Black’s 81-year-old mother was there Sunday afternoon when she started showing symptoms of a minor heart attack. Employees called 911. But outside of that, Black said not much was done.

After this close call, and the incident in California,Black is worried about losing his mother to inaction among nurses.

“The daughter of the lady in California didn’t want her resuscitated anyway but we do,” Black said. "So, if she ups and dies that’s going to make us very upset.”

The family has decided to pull Margie from Clare Bridge.

In a statement issued by Brookdale, a spokesperson, “We are conducting a company-wide review of our policies involving emergency medical care across all of our communities.”