A\nwoman who has been in a coma for more than a decade gave birth recently while\nin an Arizona care facility and now authorities are seeking DNA from the male\nworkers there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nwoman, who gave birth to a boy on December 29, is a member of the San Carlos Apache\nTribe and has long been in a vegetative state, the tribe’s chairman said\nTuesday. CNN is not reporting the woman’s name because she is the victim of\nsexual abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When\nyou have a loved one committed to palliative care, when they are most\nvulnerable and dependent upon others, you trust their caretakers,”\nchairman Terry Rambler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hacienda\nHealthCare in Phoenix said police detectives served a search warrant Tuesday\nseeking DNA from men who work there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police\nsaid they didn’t have any updates Tuesday but Sgt. Tommy Thompson said Friday\nthere was an ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CNN\naffiliate KPHO\/KTVK has reported the woman has been in a vegetative state for\n14 years, quoting a source familiar with the situation. The woman has been a\npatient at this facility for at least a decade following a near-drowning\nincident, the Phoenix-based station quoted its source as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The\nfamily obviously is outraged, traumatized and in shock by the abuse and neglect\nof their daughter at Hacienda HealthCare,” the family’s attorney, John\nMicheaels said. “The family would like me to convey that the baby boy has\nbeen born into a loving family and will be well cared for.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hacienda\nofficials have called the situation “a deeply disturbing incident”\nand said they are cooperating with law enforcement and state agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\ncompany’s chief executive officer, Bill Timmons, resigned Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hacienda\n“will accept nothing less than a full accounting of this absolutely\nhorrifying situation, an unprecedented case that has devastated everyone\ninvolved, from the victim and her family to Hacienda staff at every level of\nour organization,” said Gary Orman, executive vice president of Hacienda\nHealthCare’s board of directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last\nweek the state’s department of economic security sent investigators to the\nfacility for health and safety checks. Spokesman Brett Bezio said the work was\nfinished but didn’t give any details about the results of the visits with\npatients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The department of health ordered Hacienda to implement “heightened safety measures,” spokeswoman Melissa Blasius-Nuanez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n