Becker's Hospital Review

81 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY California hospital temporarily operated unlicensed NICU due to 'technical issue,' CEO says By Mackenzie Bean H ealth officials cited San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based French Hospital Medical Center for op- erating its neonatal intensive care unit without proper licensing for one month in late 2019, according to a state re- port obtained by NBC affiliate KSBY. The California Department of Public Health investigated the hospital, part of San Diego-based Dignity Health, in October 2019. Officials determined French Hospital was offering services typically performed at level 2 NICUs, even though it was only registered as a level 1 NICU with the state. Health offi- cials recommended the hospital apply for a program flex to allow its clinicians to treat babies 32 weeks and older. "The statement from the survey team following their investigation was that they believe the hospital had all of the capabilities and competencies needed to treat this level of newborns and that the program flex would address any li- censing requirements," a spokesperson for Dignity Health told Becker's. French Hospital CEO Alan Iftiniuk told KSBY the error stemmed from a "technical issue," not a "patient safety or quality issue." The hospital conduct- ed extensive staff training and obtained new equipment to meet the require- ments of a level 2 NICU but did not im- mediately get state approval. "We needed to do an application to CDPH," Mr. Iftiniuk told KSBY. "That box did not get checked, unfortunately." French Hospital treated one infant in the month it was operating as an unlicensed level 2 NICU. The hospital submitted a plan of correction to the state and has since obtained the proper licensing. n How this Kentucky hospital cut C. diff rates 59% By Mackenzie Bean R ussell, Ky.-based Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital saw a significant reduc- tion in hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infections after implementing two key interventions, according to a study published in the Journal of Health Economics and Outcomes Research. The hospital, part of Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health, implement- ed the use of launderable hospital bed barriers and an evidence-based antibi- otic stewardship program in April 2016. Researchers from Xavier University in Cincinnati analyzed the hospital's infec- tion rates from September 2014 through September 2018, spanning before and after the intervention period. They found monthly C. difficile infections fell from 1.79 before the intervention to 1.03 after. In total, the interventions were associated with a 59 percent de- crease in hospital-onset C. difficile infections and a 37 percent drop in antibi- otic use over the study period. n 13 clinical characteristics of coronavirus By Anuja Vaidya A study of 99 patients with the new strain of coronavirus shows that the infection causes fever, coughs and shortness of breath. e study, published in e Lancet, examined all confirmed cases of 2019- nCoV pneumonia in a Wuhan, China, hospital from Jan. 1 to Jan. 20. Researchers conducted follow-ups through Jan. 25. Of the 99 patients, 67 were men and 32 women. Clinical characteristics include: • 83 percent had a fever • 82 percent had a cough • 75 percent had pneumonia in both lungs • 31 percent had shortness of breath • 17 percent developed acute respiratory distress syndrome • 11 percent had muscle ache • 9 percent showed symptoms of confusion • 8 percent had headaches • 5 percent had a sore throat • 4 percent had runny noses • 2 percent had chest pain • 2 percent had diarrhea • 1 percent had nausea and vomiting Of the 17 percent with acute respiratory distress syndrome, 11 percent died of multiple organ failure. n

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