Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1293502
19 PATIENT SAFETY HCA hospital staff link device malfunction, patient death to understaffing By Mackenzie Bean A patient at North Suburban Medical Center died in May aer staff members failed to change the battery on the individual's pulse oximeter in a timely manner, according to a state inspection report cited by e Denver Post. e patient was seeking treatment for COVID-19 at the orn- ton, Colo.-based hospital May 23. A technician called a nurse to have her change the pulse oximeter's battery, per standard hospital procedure. However, the nurse was caring for other patients and did not respond to the call for more than 30 min- utes, according to the inspection report. e technician, who was assigned 46 patients, did not realize the battery hadn't been changed for more than 30 minutes. She called the nurse again, who arrived aer another 10 minutes. At this point, the patient was not breathing, and was pronounced dead aer resuscitation attempts failed, according to the inspec- tion report. When hospital leadership asked the nurse about the incident, she told them insufficient staffing was to blame, but they never responded, inspectors said. e Denver Post spoke with five nurses and a physician who've worked at North Suburban Medical Center, among other hospitals owned by Denver-based HealthOne. e clinicians, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed understaffing was a common issue that sometimes led to lapses in basic hygiene and preventable pressure sores or infections. HealthOne expressed its condolenses to the patient's family and said it worked with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on a corrective action plan to address the issues. "Our staffing, which is based on provider skill mix and patient acuity, is appropriate and consistent with national standards, and upon a recent follow-up visit by the CDPHE, we were found to be in compliance with state standards," Stephanie Sullivan, assistant vice president of media relations and video content for Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, which owns HealthOne, said in a statement to Becker's. "While our pursuit of clinical excellence is a continual effort, we are proud of our caregivers whose dedication to patient care is the reason North Suburban Medical Center has been recognized for healthcare quality by organizations like e Leapfrog Group, Healthgrades and IBM Watson." n Ballad dismisses cardiothoracic surgeon who asked CEO to make incision on patient By Ayla Ellison J ohnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health let go a cardiothoracic surgeon in August after he invited the then-CEO of Bristol (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center to participate in a surgical procedure, accord- ing to the Bristol Herald Courier. Greg Neal stepped down as CEO of the hospital on Aug. 20 and subsequently told the Courier that he was asked to resign after participating in a surgical procedure without a medical license. On Aug. 25, a Ballad Health spokesperson confirmed to the Courier that Nathan Smith, MD, was the surgeon who invited the CEO to enter the operating room to observe the surgery and asked him to make the initial incision for the procedure. Mr. Neal admitted his role in the incident in an email to the Courier, saying he regretted making the incision and accepted accountability. "More importantly, I apologize to the patient and their family. I apologize to the team members of Ballad Health and to the leadership of Ballad Health," Mr. Neal said. After learning of the incident, Ballad officials launched an investigation, which concluded with asking Mr. Neal to resign and terminating Dr. Smith's employment. The Courier reported that Dr. Smith had only been with Bris- tol Regional Medical Center since July, the same month he graduated from the cardiothoracic surgery fellowship program of Albany (N.Y.) Medical College. The publica- tion was unable to contact Dr. Smith on Aug. 25. "Any complaint and/or investigation is confidential un- less and until the board takes action," a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Health told the Couri- er, regarding a possible investigation that would come before the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners. n