PHOENIX – Arizona authorities are investigating the rape of a female patient in a vegetative state in a nursing facility.
The woman stunned workers when she went into labor because they didn't even know she was pregnant.
Recommended Videos
It happened inside the Hacienda Skilled Nursing facility in Phoenix.
The woman has been in a vegetative state at the facility for at least 14 years after a near-drowning incident. She gave birth to a baby boy Saturday, 3TV/CBS5 reported. But nobody knows who did this to her.
A woman familiar with what happened asked a Phoenix station to conceal her identity and voice. She says employees could not believe what was unfolding inside the victim's room.
"None of the staff were aware that she was pregnant until she was pretty much giving birth,” she said.
Asked how they knew she went into labor, the woman replied, “From what I've been told, she was moaning. And they didn't know what was wrong with her. There was a nurse that was there, and from what I heard she's the one that delivered the baby."
The baby is reportedly healthy.
Adult Protective Services told Phoenix media that after hearing the allegations, they immediately dispatched a team to conduct health and safety checks on all members living in the facility.
The Arizona Department of Health said they are actively working with local law enforcement in their criminal investigation. But right now, no suspects have been named.
The source said the patient required round-the-clock care, and many would have had access to her room.
The facility has changed its protocol this week, according to the source.
"I was told that as of now, if a male staff needs to enter a female room, that they need to bring in a female employee with them," she said.
The woman told the station the woman was raped in the most vulnerable state.
She had no way to defend herself in this sort of situation, according to the source.
“(She was) not even able to communicate the fact that she was pregnant," she said.
According to its website, Hacienda Healthcare serves more than 2,500 people each year.