Relatives find elderly family member alone, slumped over desk in nursing home

CANTON, Ohio – A photo posted to Facebook of an elderly woman slouched over a desk inside a nursing home office has sparked a state investigation.

The pastor of Esther Brown, 80, and her family posted the photo, along with others, after the woman's son found her on top of a pillow when he visited the facility in Canton, Ohio on Saturday.

When Brown's son returned to the facility after heading home for a change of clothes, he was told his mother had moved to a private room. When they went searching for her, she was found in an office area slumped over the desk.

Dear Facebook family and friends, this is how we found our dear Mother Esther Brown at the nursing home for...

Posted by Julia Wiggins on Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Pastor Julia Wiggins said when Brown was found, she was "gasping for breath and strangling on her own saliva." She added that it took staff members up to 10 minutes to assist Brown.

WOIO reports the Ohio agency that oversees nursing home facilities found the photos "very disturbing."

According to the report, the Ohio Department of Health and the state's Department of Aging are both investigating the condition in which Brown was left.

"People please keep a close check on any of your loved ones if they are in these places, if you don't, you might be preparing for a home going service before you were ready to do one." wrote Wiggins.