Autopsy: South Holland nursing home resident died of natural causes

(SOUTH HOLLAND) One of three residents of a south suburban nursing home who died after several residents fell ill in February died of natural causes, authorities said Monday. The death of another patient was previously ruled a homicide.

Leon Krynicki, 98, was one of six patients at Holland Home in South Holland who were taken to hospitals on Feb. 3, the Chicago Sun-Times reported previously.

He was taken to Providence Hospice in Tinley Park where he died March 9, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

The death of one of the other patients who died following the incident was previously ruled a homicide, authorities said. Dorothy Byrd, 98, died of morphine and hydrocodone toxicity.

An initial autopsy at the time was inconclusive, but tests have since determined Krynicki died of cardiomyopathy due to heart disease, said Frank Shuftan, a spokesman for the medical examiner’s office.

Dementia and chronic renal disease were listed as contributing factors, and his death was ruled natural, he said.

“The incident of 2/3/15 may represent an episode of overmedication after which Mr. Krynicki returned to his baseline condition,” Shuftan said in an email Monday. “This being the case, it did not contribute to death.”

A third patient, 88-year-old Robert Rundin, was taken to Saint Margaret’s Hospital in Dyer, Ind., where he died March 7, the Lake County (Ind.) coroner’s office said.

Coroner’s office officials said in early March that full autopsy results for Rundin were not expected for another four months because of further testing.

Officials with Villa Healthcare, which operates Holland home, said after the incident they are fully cooperating with the investigation.

South Holland police did not immediately respond to a message Monday evening seeking comment on the ongoing investigation.