NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Arizona Republic reporter Stephanie Innes about a Phoenix patient, who gave birth while in a vegetative state, and the following investigation.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: In Phoenix, police are collecting DNA samples from all male employees of a long-term care facility. A patient there gave birth to a child. The woman's tribe says she has been in a persistent vegetative state for more than a decade. Stephanie Innes is a health reporter for the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. And she has been covering this story, which may not be appropriate for some listeners. Thank you for joining us.</s>STEPHANIE INNES: Thank you for having me.</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: The facility where this took place was called Hacienda HealthCare. Tell us about what happened there.</s>STEPHANIE INNES: On December 29, the Phoenix Police Department got a call that there was an infant in distress at Hacienda HealthCare's Hacienda de los Angeles facility. And when they arrived, they found that there was a woman who was incapacitated, and she had recently given birth.</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: The police held a press conference that you attended today. They are calling this a case of sexual assault. What else did you learn there?</s>STEPHANIE INNES: They are asking for the public's assistance. They said that this is a highest priority for the department, and they would like the public's assistance. But they also have a wide scope out of people that they are testing for DNA samples. They wouldn't specify who, but they said it's a large number of individuals.</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Tell us about the condition of the mother. What do you know?</s>STEPHANIE INNES: Well, the mother is still in the hospital with her baby, and they are both recovering.</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: And she is a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe in southeastern Arizona.</s>STEPHANIE INNES: That's right. And the tribe issued a statement saying that they are working with Phoenix police on this case, and the family has a lawyer. They released a statement saying that the baby was born - it's a baby boy born into a loving family and that the baby will be well cared for.</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: What has the response been from the facility that was supposed to be caring for this woman who was impregnated while apparently in a persistent vegetative state?</s>STEPHANIE INNES: Well, one thing we don't know is whether staff knew that she was pregnant before she gave birth. I mean, the police didn't get the call until the baby was born. So we don't know whether the staff knew or if they just found out then. We also know that the CEO who was in charge at the time when she became pregnant and gave birth stepped down on Monday.</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: What kind of a facility is Hacienda HealthCare?</s>STEPHANIE INNES: Well, the facility this woman was in is an intermediate - it's described as an intermediate-level facility for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hacienda also cares for - it's got several programs to provide medical and therapeutic services for medically fragile infants, children and young adults.</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Obviously, there are legal considerations here. Police are investigating. But there are also medical oversight questions here. This was a facility that was supposed to be caring for its patients and appears to have egregiously failed at that responsibility. What are the implications there?</s>STEPHANIE INNES: Well, that's a good question that we are trying to find out ourselves. It's part of our coverage. And the police are working with several state agencies, including Adult Protective Services, the Division of Developmental Disabilities and the Arizona Department of Health Services. But we're trying to find out who is actually watchdogging for these vulnerable patients in these facilities. I mean, is it just their families or who from the state is watching out for them? And that's something we're trying to figure out.</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: And just briefly, how unusual is it for all the male employees of a facility like this to be asked to give a DNA sample to the police?</s>STEPHANIE INNES: How precedented is that or...</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Exactly, yeah.</s>STEPHANIE INNES: Yeah. You know, I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know that they can compel the employees to give their DNA. They're asking them to do it voluntarily, but if they don't, they can get a court order and force them to do that. That was something that came out of the press conference today.</s>ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Stephanie Innes is a health reporter for the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Thank you.</s>STEPHANIE INNES: Thank you.