Woman trapped in hospital elevator dies later

updated 9:06 a.m. ET July 9, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa - Procedures at an Iowa hospital are under review following the death of a patient who was trapped in a hospital elevator for nearly three hours.

Officials at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Des Moines say 34-year-old Tamela Sims died Sunday morning after being brought to intensive care from the emergency room. A spokeswoman says Sims’ condition was stabilized in the ICU, but she died a short time later.

The cause of death hasn’t been disclosed.

Sims’ mother says her daughter weighed more than 500 pounds and was claustrophobic.

The hospital spokeswoman says there was medical help and equipment in the stuck elevator, and that doctors were available through an elevator telephone and a ceiling outlet.

She also says the elevator’s inspection report was up to code.

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