IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Doctor resigns, another suspended at facility where woman in vegetative state gave birth

The unidentified physicians were responsible for the woman’s care, Hacienda HealthCare said in a brief statement.

One doctor was suspended and another resigned from a long-term care facility in Arizona after a woman in a vegetative state gave birth there last month, the facility said Monday.

The unidentified physicians were responsible for the woman’s care, Hacienda HealthCare said in a brief statement.

The company did not immediately provide additional details.

“Once again, we offer an apology and send our deepest sympathy to the client and her family,” the company said.

The woman, 29, and a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, has been at the privately owned facility for roughly a decade. She almost drowned when younger and is non-verbal and incapable of moving on her own. The woman gave birth to a baby boy on Dec. 29.

It’s unclear who assaulted her. Phoenix police collected DNA samples from Hacienda’s male staff earlier this month and the facility announced on Jan. 13 that it hired a private lawyer to determine how the woman was impregnated.

The company’s former CEO, Bill Timmons, resigned on Jan. 7, with its board of directors saying it would “accept nothing less than a full accounting of this absolutely horrifying situation.”

Gary Orman, the board’s executive vice president, called the case "unprecedented" and said it had "devastated everyone involved, from the victim and her family to Hacienda staff at every level of our organization."

Last week, citing "several significant concerns," state officials ordered Hacienda to pay for an outside manager to oversee its operations.