The tragic incident at Avenue Warrensville Care and Rehabilitation Center on Christmas Eve resulted in the death of 84-year-old resident Alvera Meuti. According to a statement from the medical examiner's office obtained by Cleveland19 News, the cause of death was environmental exposure and hypothermia.
Meuti was last seen on the evening of Dec. 23 around 8:40 p.m., per the statements given to police and reported by FOX8. The nurse who saw her last commented that Meuti "seemed normal" and was conversational while sitting in her wheelchair. According to the same report, only an hour later, a new nurse discovered Meuti missing from her room, and she assumed that Meuti had left with her brother.
Confusion persisted throughout the night, and it wasn't until approximately 6:30 a.m. the next day that staff reported Meuti missing and issued a "code purple" for a missing person. Meuti was found unresponsive on the facility's north side patio mere minutes later, as detailed by a Cleveland 19 News article.
Warrensville Heights police continue to investigate the matter, and according to WKYC, Meuti's brother had visited her several hours before her last sighting, with intentions of her remaining at the facility until she could walk again. Facility officials informed the police that their protocol requires nurses to check patients at least every two hours and undertake immediate action when a patient goes missing - this includes advising management, calling police, alerting the family, and activating a "code purple."
There have been no arrests yet in connection to the incident. A representative from the Avenue Warrensville Care and Rehabilitation Center issued a statement confirming that their nurses receive an extensive four weeks of training to handle such situations and emphasizing that facility doors are secured with alarms. "We are sorry for death of the resident and have expressed our condolences to the family. This continues to be an active investigation and therefore we are unable to comment further at this time," reads a statement obtained by FOX8. The Avenue sheds light on the persistent challenges faced by institutions caring for our most vulnerable and the sobering reminder that even with training and precautions, the welfare of residents can be jeopardized in the blink of an eye.
