Becker's Hospital Review

November 2020 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review

Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1299034

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 89 of 115

90 CMO / CARE DELIVERY 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 Aug. 31. e patient was seeking treatment for COVID-19 at the ornton, 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 minutes, 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 pro- nounced dead aer resuscitation attempts failed, accord- ing to the inspection report. When hospital leadership asked the nurse about the incident, she told them insuf- ficient 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 Heal- thOne. e clinicians, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed understaffing was a common issue that sometimes led to lapses in basic hygiene and pre- ventable pressure sores or infections. HealthOne expressed its condolenses to the patient's family and said it worked with the Colorado Depart- ment 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 na- tional 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 presi- dent 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 rec- ognized for healthcare quality by organizations like e Leapfrog Group, Healthgrades and IBM Watson." n Michigan NP sentenced to probation for reusing rectal devices on patients, fraud By Gabrielle Masson A Michigan nurse practitioner received probation after pleading guilty to healthcare fraud and reusing single-use rectal pressure sensors on several patients, according to Booth Newspapers. Susan Wright was sentenced Sept. 9 to three years probation and ordered to pay $5,000 in fines and $462,000 in restitution. In May, Ms. Wright pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony and adulteration of medical devices. Ms. Wright's husband, Roger Beyer, MD, owned Urological Solutions of Michigan and Women's Health Care Specialists, both based in the Kalamazoo, Mich., area. In May 2019, a nurse filed a complaint with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services against Dr. Bey- er. The nurse estimated that a single-use rectal pressure sensor had been used more than 100 times before being replaced. Following the complaint, the MDHHS recommended Dr. Beyer's patients discuss HIV and hepatitis testing with their current healthcare provider. Dr. Beyer pleaded guilty to directing his staff to reuse single-use ano- rectal manometry catheters on multiple patients as part of an initial di- agnostic study with patients with potential fecal incontinence. He also pleaded guilty to fraudulently billing Medicare for therapy services. n COVID-19 response efforts could reduce flu toll, CDC says By Mackenzie Bean W idespread adoption of social distancing and other mea- sures to control the spread of COVID-19 could lead to a less severe flu season in the Northern Hemisphere, a Sept. 18 CDC report found. Between Dec. 15, 2019, and March 7, more than 20 percent of re- spiratory specimens submitted to laboratories nationwide tested positive for flu. This figure sharply declined in March after the U.S. declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency and imple- mented numerous mitigation measures, including social distancing, mask-wearing and school or business closures. By the week of March 22, the number of respiratory specimens test- ing positive for the flu was just 2.3 percent and has remained below 1 percent since April 5. Based on this trend, researchers said the combination of flu vacci- nation and COVID-19 interventions could "substantially reduce in- fluenza incidence and impact in the 2020–21 Northern Hemisphere season." "However, given the novelty of the COVID-19 pandemic and the un- certainty of continued community mitigation measures, it is import- ant to plan for seasonal influenza circulation in the United States this fall and winter," they added. n

Articles in this issue

view archives of Becker's Hospital Review - November 2020 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review