Choking Death

MLive reported the tragic and preventable choking death of a resident in Bay City Comfort Care assisted living facility. The 60-year-old Barbara K. Baranowski died from choking. No one assisted her. For an hour, cameras recorded caregivers ignoring the deceased woman as her body slumped in a wheelchair.

Baranowski was on a prescribed “mechanical soft food diet” because she was a choking risk when consuming solid foods. Her caregivers were required to puree her food into a paste or chop it into very small pieces. They failed her. Staffers served Baranowski uncut food consisting of waffle fries and a ham and cheese sandwich.

A pathologist conducted an autopsy the same day and determined Baranowski died of asphyxia due to choking.