CEO quits after woman in vegetative state gives birth

The chief executive officer of Hacienda HealthCare resigned Monday, just days after a vegetative patient at a Hacienda nursing facility in Phoenix gave birth. Bill Timmons' resignation, which was unanimously accepted by Hacienda's board of directors, came as new allegations of past abuses emerged.



Hacienda has been under intense scrutiny since the 29-year-old Native American woman had the healthy baby boy December 29, the station said. The patient has been in a vegetative state for 14 years, since a near-drowning incident, KPHO noted.

In a statement, Hacienda said Board Executive Vice President Gary Orman vowed that Hacienda "will accept nothing less than a full accounting of this absolutely horrifying situation, an unprecedented case that has devastated everyone involved, from the victim and her family to Hacienda staff at every level of our organization."

Orman said in the statement that Hacienda "will continue to cooperate with Phoenix Police and the investigating agencies at all levels in every way possible."

The station said it's learned that she was raped several times.