Declined offer but theyre still calling for references?

I had applied for a position at a teaching hospital in another state. I did a phone interview and was granted the position. I flew down the next day, paying the hefty last minute airfare to check out the facility before moving my whole life thousands of miles away. I wanted to give the facility an answer right away as to not hold up the hiring process. I was very excited but was quickly disapointed with the unfriendly staff and outdated facility. I struggled with the decision bc I really wanted to move away and experience a different culture. I declined the offer 2 days later bc I couldnt shake the vibe i felt. The same day that I decline the hospital HR calls my boss and coworker for references. It was the same woman I had spoken to earlier. Why would she call my references after I declined the offer?
Maybe she's hoping that you'll change your mind and when you do things will all be in order?Were you very clear about declining the position when you talked to this woman while you were down there? I know that sounds like a dumb question, but there have been times in my life where I have found myself in an uncomfortable situation like this and don't want to hurt the person's feelings so I end up saying something like, "I'm probably going to have to decline the offer, tempting as it is", or something similar to that, which to me, means that I don't want the job but to someone else sounds wishy-washy and like I'm still sitting the fence about taking the job. If you said something definite like, "As much as I appreciate the offer, I am declining the position at this time and will continue working where I am currently", which sounds assertive and definitely lets her know that you aren't taking the job, then I can't imagine why she would still call for references. Sounds like a waste of time. Maybe the facility is so outdated that they don't train their managers in the correct sequence of events when trying to hire someone? I guess what I would probably do is call this woman and point blank ask her (in a nice way, of course) if she understood your intent of not accepting the position, since you learned after speaking to her that she was still calling for references. She may just be flustered and overwhelmed in her job and be like, "What???? I did that???" or she may get a little snarky, but if she does, who cares, you'll never see her again, right?