Daughter questions mother's death at Bria of Geneva

GENEVA – The daughter of a 78-year-old woman who died April 25 at Bria of Geneva is seeking answers to the cause of her mother’s death.

“My mother was in good health, other than having dementia,” Faith Heimbrodt of Huntley said. “She had no other health issues. No diabetes, no heart disease, no cancer.”

And while the Kane County Coroner’s Office has listed 15 deaths from COVID-19 at Bria of Geneva, her mother had no documented symptoms of it, Heimbrodt said.

“She was never put on the list for COVID testing because the director [of Bria] said she had no symptoms,” Heimbrodt said. “But they bagged her body and labeled it ‘COVID-19 positive.’ I want to know my mother’s cause of death. ... I feel she could have died from sepsis or something else. I feel she could have bed sores or other signs of neglect.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Kane County Coroner Rob Russell took possession of Carol Orlando’s body and did a nasal swab test for COVID-19. Russell said the results could be ready by Friday.

“If she is COVID positive, we will not do an autopsy until we know what we’re dealing with,” Russell said. The CDC and OSHA recommend to avoid doing autopsy on people who have COVID-19. I have to keep my people out of harm’s way. If she is COVID positive, we will not do an autopsy, but we will do an external exam and do photographs.”

Shocked at her mother’s condition

Orlando had lived at Carroll Towers in St. Charles for nine years before going to live in the memory care unit at Bria of Geneva, 1101 E. State St., Geneva, said her daughter.

Heimbrodt, 49, said she used to visit every few weeks. But Heimbrodt had not been there since late December because she has multiple sclerosis and Bria warned her there was a lot of flu going around at the nursing home and she was afraid of getting sick.

But when she came to visit on April 23, Heimbrodt said she was shocked at her mother’s condition.

“The roof of her mouth was covered with sores that were blackened. Her dentures had never been removed. I could see debris and caked food,” Heimbrodt said. “Her eyes were sunken. She looked very dehydrated.”

But when Heimbrodt asked a nurse about giving her mother water, she was told they were not giving her any because she might aspirate into her lungs.

“There is another way to get water in her. You can’t just put her in bed and think, ‘You’re going to die, you don’t get care.’ The nurse said they do not do IV fluids,” Heimbrodt said. “The nurse said she would tell her doctor.”

Heimbrodt said a doctor was assigned to her mother when she became a resident at Bria. But she didn’t think he ever saw her mother, let alone provided any care – or else how could her condition have been missed?

Heimbrodt said by 9 p.m. Friday, she was on the phone with the Bria of Geneva director. She said she demanded that her mother be given water or she would call a lawyer.

The Bria director offered to have hospice come and give Orlando care. Heimbrodt agreed. She said Vitas Hospice came to see her mother at noon on Saturday.

“They told me she startles if they touch her and they might have to give her morphine to keep her calm to clean her,” Heimbrodt said. “I don’t know the last time she was cleaned or moved. They said she is panicking every time they touch her or move her.”

Daughter requests autopsy

At 3 p.m., Heimbrodt said she was told her mother had died.

“When she passed away, within two minutes [Bria] called and said, ‘Call cremation and schedule getting her body out of our nursing home,’ ” Heimbrodt said. “My mom was prepaid with the Cremation Society of Illinois. To be cremated was my mom’s wish.”

Heimbrodt told the cremation company she wanted an autopsy for her mother. She paid $2,200 to Chicago Area Autopsy but two hours later, they called and said they were refunding her money because they could not do the autopsy.

“I said, ‘Why not?’ They said, ‘She’s COVID positive. You should have told us. Her [body] bag says ‘COVID positive,’ ” Heimbrodt said. “I am completely OK with death. It’s a part of life. I’m not OK with stonewalling me on no autopsy.”

She called Bria’s director again and confirmed that her mother had not been tested for COVID-19.

“They never tested her. She never had symptoms. How does the bag say ‘COVID positive?’ Heimbrodt said she asked. “The answer was, ‘I don’t know.’ ”

A message from the Kane County Chronicle left for the manager of Bria Geneva was not returned.

Daniel Weiss, CEO of Bria Health Services, sent the following statement to WGN: “The health and safety of our residents and staff is our solitary focus at this challenging time. We are doing everything we can to stop the spread of COVID-19 within our facility, including testing as directed by department of public health, strictly adhering to all guidance from the CDC, and staying in very close communication with local and state health officials to ensure we are taking all the appropriate steps.”

Chief Deputy Coroner Loren Carrera said, when her death was reported by Bria, she was told Orlando was COVID exposed, not COVID positive – which still leaves the question of why it stated COVID positive on the Orlando’s body bag.

The coroner’s office also was told that Orlando had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe and atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rate, as well as dementia.

Heimbrodt said she just wants answers.

Her mother had worked most of her life as an in-home certified nurse’s aide, but also as a CNA at Sherman Hospital in Elgin before it became Advent Sherman and at Delnor before it became Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, Heimbrodt said.

“My mom was tough as nails, tough as a brick. She worked at Sherman Hospital back when they had flesh-eating bacteria,” Heimbrodt said. “All I want is the chance to give my mother an autopsy. I want to know what caused her death. ... We cannot be this indifferent to the elderly. ”