AURORA, Colo. — A patient died at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora after the technician monitoring their vitals changed their alarm settings and placed a communication device on "do not disturb," according to a new report from the VA's Office of the Inspector General.
The patient, who was in their 60s and had a history of lung cancer, was admitted to the hospital in spring of 2023 for shortness of breath and low oxygen levels. The patient's gender was not revealed in the report.
The report says two days into the patient's hospital stay, the monitor alarm — which tracks heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure and oxygen — sent out four alarms over a span of six minutes.
The patient was found without a pulse nearly half an hour later, then pronounced dead. There is no documentation of anyone notifying nursing staff about the alarms during that time.
Another worker reported that the technician had a habit of disabling alarms, changing their parameters and placing them on "do not disturb."
The report found hospital leadership became aware of those workers not properly responding to alarms in September 2022 and sent out a list of expectations two months later. The report expressed concern about the lack of oversight.
The VA did not immediately respond to 9NEWS' request for comment.