11th death of 2008 at Glenwood center
It was supposed to be a mother-son day for Georgette Alexander and her son, Timothy. Instead, she attended the funeral of her only child Wednesday.
Timothy Nelson Alexander, 26, never made it home to Oskaloosa, Iowa, for the holiday this year. He died Saturday, two days after being found unconscious in his bed at the Glenwood Resource Center.
Alexander believes her son's death was the result of negligence, and she's planning a Iowa Wrongful Death Lawsuit against the Glenwood Resource Center. State officials say proper protocols were followed in the case.
Saturday marked the 11th death of a resource center resident this year. The state cited the resource center in connection with one of the deaths earlier this year. The facility has about 320 residents and is Iowa's largest facility for people with developmental disabilities.
Timothy Alexander, who had a seizure disorder, fell ill Nov. 19, according to Georgette Alexander. She and her husband received a call from someone at the resource center, who said he had a seizure while eating and choked on his food. He had been taken to the hospital.
Georgette's husband called to check on Timothy the next morning, and he was back in his room after a short stay in the infirmary. Timothy had eaten breakfast, taken his medicine and gone back to bed, his father was told. When center staff went to tell Timothy his father was on the phone, they found him unresponsive.
"It could've been prevented. They made the wrong call,'' Georgette Alexander said, "by not providing constant supervision.''
After Timothy's past hospital stays, he was observed in the infirmary for 48 to 72 hours, she said.
Sally Titus, deputy director for field operations for the Iowa Department of Human Services, which operates the center, said privacy laws prevent the agency from commenting directly on Timothy Alexander. But Titus does not believe staff members at the center violated policies.