Investigation: 2 employees fired after nursing home death

Two employees at an Eden Prairie nursing home neglected a patient and lied about a fall that caused the patient's death, according to the findings of a Minnesota Department of Health investigation.

The patient at Castle Ridge Care Center suffered the fatal fall when two nursing assistants tried to lift her using a sling.

The employees did not report the fall and told a nurse that a bump on the woman's head was caused by a minor accident.

The patient was transferred to a hospital where she died three days later of complications from injuries caused by the fall.

"It looks like they attempted to cover up on that, so that people didn't know what they were, what they had done," said Stella French, director of the Office of Health Facility Complaints at the health department.

In a written statement, Castle Ridge Care Center said it conducted a review of the incident and found the employees did not follow procedures. The statement says both employees have been fired.