Saturday, December 28, 2002

BY TED SHERMAN
Star-Ledger Staff

A 42-year-old profoundly retarded resident at the Woodbridge Developmental Center died early Thursday after he got into an unlocked kitchen area and choked on several large chunks of bread.

The incident occurred shortly after 1 a.m. while four direct-care workers and one supervisor were on duty -- a staffing ratio officials said was not unusual for an overnight shift. However, the state said it is investigating how at least two doors that should have been locked were left unsecured.

According to the Department of Human Services, Michael Weiss, a resident at Woodbridge since 1965, was known to staff members for his habit of cramming things in his mouth -- a condition known as pica.

"When you have someone like that, you have to be vigilant that they don't have access to food or anything they can put in their mouth," said Laurie Facciarossa, a department spokeswoman. "Apparently he was left unsupervised for long enough to gain access to an area he should not have had access to, given his history."

While two staff workers were involved with other residents, he was able to get to an unlocked laundry room. From there, he had free access to the kitchen. "A staff worker saw him, but by the time they reached him, he was already stuffing bread into his mouth," Facciarossa said.

The bread was removed, but as he was being led back to his room Weiss began choking and medical attention was summoned. They used the Heimlich maneuver in an effort to revive him, and an EMS squad attempted to dislodge a piece of bread deep in his airway, but he went into cardiac arrest while being transported to Rahway Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:45 a.m.

It was the first so-called "sudden and unexpected" death at Woodbridge since April, when four workers were suspended without pay for falsifying night checks in the case of another individual found dead in his room.

Woodbridge has been under heightened federal scrutiny by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for patient care deficiencies, including levels of staffing. Facciarossa, though, said it did not appear the staffing was an issue in the latest incident, with five workers on duty that night responsible for a total of 32 residents in the dorm-like cottage where Weiss lived.

"We're looking at the supervision and the issue of the unlocked doors," she said.