Family demanding answers from nursing home after 93-year-old nun found dead on nearby snow bank in frigid temperatures

Margaret Healey, a former Catholic school teacher and nun with Alzheimer’s, was found unresponsive in the snow after wandering off in subzero temperatures as relatives question Connecticut facility’s response

The family of a 93-year-old woman who died after wandering away from a Connecticut nursing home in subzero temperatures has raised questions about the facility’s response to the tragedy.

Margaret “Peggy” Healey, a resident of Bickford Health Care Center in Windsor Locks and a former Catholic school French teacher and nun, was reported missing from the home at 4.45 a.m. Sunday morning, according to First Alert 4.

She was soon found lying unresponsive in a snow drift in its driveway, wearing only pajamas and sneakers.

Windsor Locks Police Lt. Paul Cherniak said staff rushed Healey inside, attempted to revive her and warm her with blankets before calling for emergency medical support.

“It appears that they brought her in from the outdoors when she was outside face down in the snow bank, and they began warming techniques with blankets, trying to bring her body temperature back up,” he said.

Margaret Healey, a 93-year-old former Catholic school teacher and nun, who was found dead in the snow after wandering away from a nursing home in Windsor Locks, Connecticut (Family Photo)

“She did not make it, unfortunately, and by the time we were called, there was a pronouncement [of death] at 6.46 a.m.”

Officers wrote in their preliminary report about the incident that, “due to various factors present, (age, extreme cold weather, and overall medical health condition) the cause of death is currently undetermined.”

The official cause will be ultimately determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Cherniak said the nursing home had waited almost two hours before calling the police and commented, “We don’t want to point fingers as to wrongdoing. We don’t know if that’s the case. We are still in the middle of it all. But in a case like that, for future reference… you would call Emergency Medical Services and police as fast as you can.”

Clare Kindall, Healey’s niece, said law enforcement had told her the nursing home also delayed in calling for an ambulance, raising questions about its handling of the situation.

“As a family, we are all grieving about this,” she said. “Obviously, we have some pretty significant concerns. It was bitterly cold that night. It was below 0 degrees without wind chill.

“She was out in her pajamas and sneakers. Ten or 15 minutes, she’s in hypothermia. We have a lot of questions… We’re hoping she didn’t suffer. It just adds to your pain.”

According to NBC Connecticut, the precise temperature at the time Healey stepped outside was -1 degree, with the wind chill making it feel closer to -15.

Bickford Health Care Center in Winter Locks, Connecticut, the nursing home from which Healey disappeared (First Alert 4)

Kindall explained that her aunt had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, had a history of wandering off and wore an ankle bracelet to alert her carers if she passed through a doorway without authorization.

“She has an ankle bracelet, and at least when I would take her out to lunch or something, the alarm would go off,” Kindall said.

“So, my experience was the ankle bracelet worked. I don’t know if there were subsequent problems with the system, but my personal experience was that it worked.”

The Independent has reached out to Bickford Health Care Center for comment.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health said in a statement: “DPH was informed over the weekend of the death of a resident at the Bickford Health Care Center.

“Our hearts go out to her family and friends. DPH is prohibited from disclosing or discussing the existence of an investigation until any such investigation is closed and findings are issued.”

Kindall paid tribute to her late relative, whom she had spent time with on the Saturday prior to her death, watching the Winter Olympics, by saying: “Aunt Peggy was a great aunt, she’s the kind who would take you up horseback riding and take you to events, spoil you.

“She was great with her family. She loved animals, and she loved her students.”