Shiloh
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Source: http://www.meadvilletribune.com/local/local_story_341234932.html
Published December 07, 2009 11:48 pm - The Crawford County Coroner?s office has released the name and age of the State Correctional Institution at Cambridge Springs inmate who died last month from swine flu-related complications.
Coroner: Inmate died after transfer to hospital
CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS ? The Crawford County Coroner?s office has released the name and age of the State Correctional Institution at Cambridge Springs inmate who died last month from swine flu-related complications.
Debra Ann Liberman, 56, died Nov. 17 at Meadville Medical Center?s emergency room, according to Crawford County Assistant Coroner Scott Schell. The coroner?s office investigates all deaths of inmates from correctional facilities in Crawford County, Schell said.
Liberman?s death was the first reported due to H1N1 in Craw-ford County. The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently reported the death as a statistic in its online update.
Both Schell and Crawford County Coroner Pat McHenry said Liberman?s health had been seriously compromised by a condition known as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a progressive breathing ailment that can be life-threatening, especially when coupled with serious flu symptoms.
Schell and McHenry said Liberman was being cared for properly by prison officials and that a first round of tests, before her death, indicated that swine flu was not present. After her death, however, a sample was sent to a more sophisticated testing system and tested positive for the virus.
Schell didn?t have an exact timeframe, but said that Liberman had been admitted to MMC?s intensive care unit ?several days? prior to her death and was on her way to be transferred to a Pittsburgh hospital via helicopter on Nov. 17 when she went into cardiac arrest and was taken back to MMC?s emergency room, where she died.
The medium-security prison at the former Alliance College grounds in Cambridge Springs currently houses just over 1,000 inmates; there are currently no other reports of inmates testing positive for H1N1.
SCI-Cambridge officials said they wouldn?t comment specifically on Liberman or her death due to confidentiality requirements, but issued a statement Monday indicating the prison follows standard protocols for handling flu cases and other contagious disease ? such as stressing proper hygiene practices ? and has emergency plans similar to other institutions in place in the event of an epidemic.
?We continue to monitor the inmate population, and the inmates may sign up for sick call if they feel that they need medical attention,? SCI-Cambridge Public Informa-tion Officer Amy Boylan said in the statement.
Published December 07, 2009 11:48 pm - The Crawford County Coroner?s office has released the name and age of the State Correctional Institution at Cambridge Springs inmate who died last month from swine flu-related complications.
Coroner: Inmate died after transfer to hospital
CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS ? The Crawford County Coroner?s office has released the name and age of the State Correctional Institution at Cambridge Springs inmate who died last month from swine flu-related complications.
Debra Ann Liberman, 56, died Nov. 17 at Meadville Medical Center?s emergency room, according to Crawford County Assistant Coroner Scott Schell. The coroner?s office investigates all deaths of inmates from correctional facilities in Crawford County, Schell said.
Liberman?s death was the first reported due to H1N1 in Craw-ford County. The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently reported the death as a statistic in its online update.
Both Schell and Crawford County Coroner Pat McHenry said Liberman?s health had been seriously compromised by a condition known as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a progressive breathing ailment that can be life-threatening, especially when coupled with serious flu symptoms.
Schell and McHenry said Liberman was being cared for properly by prison officials and that a first round of tests, before her death, indicated that swine flu was not present. After her death, however, a sample was sent to a more sophisticated testing system and tested positive for the virus.
Schell didn?t have an exact timeframe, but said that Liberman had been admitted to MMC?s intensive care unit ?several days? prior to her death and was on her way to be transferred to a Pittsburgh hospital via helicopter on Nov. 17 when she went into cardiac arrest and was taken back to MMC?s emergency room, where she died.
The medium-security prison at the former Alliance College grounds in Cambridge Springs currently houses just over 1,000 inmates; there are currently no other reports of inmates testing positive for H1N1.
SCI-Cambridge officials said they wouldn?t comment specifically on Liberman or her death due to confidentiality requirements, but issued a statement Monday indicating the prison follows standard protocols for handling flu cases and other contagious disease ? such as stressing proper hygiene practices ? and has emergency plans similar to other institutions in place in the event of an epidemic.
?We continue to monitor the inmate population, and the inmates may sign up for sick call if they feel that they need medical attention,? SCI-Cambridge Public Informa-tion Officer Amy Boylan said in the statement.