By Healthcare Facilities Today

Washington officials are revoking the operating license of a retirement facility after an 88-year-old woman froze to death in its courtyard earlier this month, according to an article on the Imperial Valley Press website.

Officials with the Department of Social and Health Services said staff mistakes and ineffective security measures at Canterbury Gardens Alzheimer Care in Longview are to blame for Norma Sheldon's death Dec. 6, the article said.

Sheldon's body was found in an enclosed, open-air courtyard after staff missed a required hourly bed check at midnight, according to the article. The Alzheimer's patient, who died of hypothermia, was wearing only a nightgown in the 28-degree weather. 

According to the state's revocation letter, the violations found by investigators "resulted in the death to a resident and put 61 other residents at risk for accidents or injuries."

Investigators found a worker failed to do a midnight bed check. They also found that not all the doors to the courtyard had operational locks or alarms, and some alarms that were on were too faint to be heard clearly, the article said.

Read the article.