A report from the Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals says the mistaken death declaration occurred on Jan. 3 after a staff member at the Glen Oaks Alzheimer's Special Care Center in Urbandale reported that the woman, 66, had died about 6 a.m. The report said the woman, who had early onset dementia, anxiety and depression, had been in hospice care since Dec. 28.

The staff member reported she could no longer feel the woman's pulse and alerted a nurse practitioner, who made the death declaration, the report said. Iowa law allows nurses and physicians' assistants, in addition to doctors, to declare a patient dead.

The report also said that the woman previously had suffered minor seizures and showed signs of mottled skin, a sign of approaching death.