Becker's Hospital Review

64 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Where are the 9 Leapfrog 'F' hospitals? By Mackenzie Bean T he Leapfrog Group gave nine hospitals failing grades in its spring 2019 Hospital Safety Grades released May 15. e organization assigns letter grades every fall and spring to more than 2,600 acute care hospitals for patient safety performance. is figure marks a decrease from the 17 hospitals that received an "F" in Leapfrog's fall 2018 Safety Grades update. Of the nine hospitals assigned "F"s this spring, two also earned "F"s this past fall. ese hospitals are denoted with asterisks below. Here is a list of this spring's "F" hospitals broken down by state: Arkansas National Park Medical Center (Hot Springs) California Lompoc Valley Medical Center Valley Presbyterian Hospital (Van Nuys) Kentucky Methodist Hospital of Henderson Michigan Hurley Medical Center (Flint) New Mexico Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services (Gallup)* New York St. John's Episcopal Hospital (New York City)* UPMC Chautauqua WCA (Jamestown) Washington, D.C. United Medical Center n Mold forces Seattle Children's to close operating rooms By Mackenzie Bean S eattle Children's Hospital postponed and diverted surgeries after detecting mold in its operating rooms, reported KIRO 7. Tests revealed the presence of Aspergillus in several ORs and equipment storage rooms at the hospital's main campus in May. Seattle Chil- dren's closed these rooms out of caution and worked with an outside industrial hygienist to investigate and address the source of the mold, according to Mark Del Beccaro, MD, CMO of Se- attle Children's. The hospital notified 3,000 patients about the mold and postponed up to 50 surgeries daily. Other surgical cases were diverted to Seattle Children's campus in Bellevue, Wash. Aspergillus is a common mold that most people breathe in every day without adverse effects. In rare cases, people with weakened immune sys- tems or lung diseases could develop health is- sues from the mold spores, according to the CDC. "We want most people to know that the risk is incredibly small for the overwhelming majority of patients," Dr. Del Beccaro told KIRO 7. "Even … for patients that are at a high-risk category … the risk is low." n Physicians liable for malpractice even when treatment is indirect, rules Minnesota Supreme Court By Emily Rappleye A court ruling in Minnesota seeks to clarify the legal boundaries of the patient-physician relationship, the Star Tribune reported. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that physicians are liable for malpractice whenever they make formal medi- cal decisions that affect a patient, even if they don't have a direct relationship to the patient, according to the report. The decision affects only formal medical decisions, not in- formal advice. The result of this opinion could have a significant effect on medical decision-making, potentially increasing lawsuits and malpractice insurance premiums, according to the report. The decision stems from a lawsuit brought by a patient's family in 2016. The patient died of sepsis three days after visiting Essentia Health Clinic in Hibbing, Minn., for various symptoms, including abdominal pain, fever and chills. A nurse practitioner at the clinic called a hospitalist at Hib- bing-based Fairview Range Medical Center, seeking to admit the patient to the hospital. However, the physician decided not to authorize an admission. The physician nev- er saw the patient in person, according to the report. The case was dismissed by the lower courts because the hospitalist did not directly care for the patient, according to the report. n

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