An investigation is ongoing after a woman died and two more were hospitalized from a senior living facility after being served a toxic chemical to drink.
According to reports, an unidentified staff member mistook a dishwashing liquid for juice.
Atria Park, an assisted living center in San Mateo, California confirmed three residents were “recently transported to the hospital” over the weekend. It was there that 93-year-old resident Gertrude Maxwell passed away due to the ingestion of toxic materials.
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The situation left many confused about how this could happen.
\u201c@mariannefavro What kind of mistake is that??\u201d— Marianne Favro (@Marianne Favro) 1661827612
\u201c@amandalhu There\u2019s just so much of it \ud83d\udc94\u201d— Jess \u2122\ufe0f (@Jess \u2122\ufe0f) 1661883570
\u201c@MeetJess How... HOW... just how does someone make this kind of mistake? And it wasn't just one person since more than one was suspended.\u201d— Jess \u2122\ufe0f (@Jess \u2122\ufe0f) 1661883570
\u201c@mariannefavro How do u mistake dishwashing liquid for juice? Something doesn't sound right\u201d— Marianne Favro (@Marianne Favro) 1661827612
\u201c@DataJunkie @MeetJess The stuff that goes in industrial dishwashers is pretty harsh\u201d— Jess \u2122\ufe0f (@Jess \u2122\ufe0f) 1661883570
Maria Cutchin, daughter of Maxwell, was told Saturday morning an ambulance was called for her mother after she ingested a dangerous substance. She was told it was an “alkaline cleaning solution that eats protein.”
When Maxwell arrived at the hospital, she had “severe blistering of her mouth and throat and esophagus.” The emergency responders were under the impression the victims had ingested the chemical on their own, but that didn’t sit right with Cutchin.
According to her, Maxwell couldn’t feed herself.
“Many people, like my mother, you have to hold a cup to her mouth and tip it into her mouth.”
As a result of this incident, San Mateo Police Department launched an investigation into how the residents ingested the chemical.
Atria Park gave a statement on what happened.
“We can confirm three of our residents were recently transported to the hospital after mistakenly being served dishwashing liquid as drinking juice. We have been working with local authorities, who have informed us that one resident passed away”
“We are conducting our own internal investigation, and the employees involved have been suspended until this investigation concludes.”
The whole situation sounds horrible.
\u201c@LaSeletzky I have no words\u2026\u201d— Leta McCollough Seletzky, JD (@Leta McCollough Seletzky, JD) 1661888741
\u201c@LaSeletzky This is all just so much. I had trouble getting through this article. I don\u2019t understand what is happening\u201d— Leta McCollough Seletzky, JD (@Leta McCollough Seletzky, JD) 1661888741
\u201c@barrywynn I\u2019m just\u2026\u201d— Leta McCollough Seletzky, JD (@Leta McCollough Seletzky, JD) 1661888741
\u201cWTF \ud83d\ude33\u201d— KB (@KB) 1661828065
\u201c@sfchronicle \u201cMistakenly\u201d seems to be generously offered here\u201d— San Francisco Chronicle (@San Francisco Chronicle) 1661920215
San Mateo Police are continuing their investigation. The names of any employees involved have not been released.
In addition, Atria Park is conducting their own internal investigation to determine how something like this could happen.
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