Iowa nurse sentenced to prison after patient death

Iowa nurse sentenced to prison after patient death
Becker's Hospital Review; by Mariah Taylor; 4/25/25
A former Iowa licensed nurse practitioner has been sentenced to prison after failing to help a nursing home patient who died of asphyxiation, the Des Moines Register reported April 24. Becky Manning, 70, was in charge of the overnight shift at Care Initiatives, a nursing facility in West Des Moines, during one night in February 2023. That night, an 87-year-old patient indicated that his tracheostomy tube in his neck needed to have fluids suctioned out. Ms. Manning, who was the sole nurse on duty, refused to do so after repeated requests. Earlier that night, she reportedly told the director of nursing that she was unwilling or unable to suction the tracheostomy tube and the nursing director told her to “watch a video and figure it out,” according to a lawsuit filed by the man’s family. The man died of asphyxiation.