Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1348345
16 PATIENT SAFETY & OUTCOMES Chicago nurse was under the influence while treating patients, stole hospital equipment, officials say By Erica Carbajal A quarterly report from the Cook County inspector general's office found an emergency room nurse at Chica- go-based Stroger Hospital treated patients while under the influence of marijuana and took IV solution from the hospital, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Jan. 15. The fourth-quarter 2020 report, released Jan. 15 from Cook County Independent Inspector General Patrick Blanchard's office, said the nurse, who is not identified, took hospital equipment without permission and admin- istered IV treatments to at least three people at their homes. The person who raised the complaint lives in a home owned by the ER nurse, and said she, along with her fiancé and daughter, received an IV flush from the nurse on multiple occasions. The report also alleges the nurse took morphine from the hospital and offered to add it into the IV. On at least one occasion, the nurse treated patients at the hospital while high aer taking a marijuana edible. e report includes screen- shots of text messages where the nurse describes being high and unfocused while inserting IVs into patients. Mr. Blanchard recommended the nurse be termi- nated and be placed on an "ineligible hire list." A spokesperson for Cook County Health, the safety-net health system Stroger belongs to, said the nurse was no longer employed in the network as of Jan. 15, according to the Sun-Times report. "Cook County Health works diligently to create a healing environment that is safest for our patients," an agency spokesperson said, accord- ing to the Sun-Times. "We take any allegations seriously and have many safeguards in place to thoroughly investigate matters. … e findings are extremely upsetting." n Amid COVID-19, Stanford surgeons perform record number of heart transplants By Erica Carbajal W hile the COVID-19 pandemic forced some transplant centers to close, it was a busy year for Stanford (Calif.) Health Care, where surgeons performed a record 86 heart transplants in 2020, the health system said Feb. 1. "We transplanted more patients, we transplanted them faster and we have been getting great outcomes," said Jeffrey Teuteberg, MD, chief of heart failure, cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at Stanford Health Care. "It's a fantastic combination." In addition to recent efforts to improve survival rates and cut transplant patients' wait time, the health system said its record-setting year is partly related to increased communication with regional heart centers, which led to more patient referrals. Stanford Health Care has averaged about 65 heart transplants annually in recent years. "I think we have gotten better at selecting patients, managing them, getting through the transplant process and monitoring them in the post-operative period," Dr. Teuteberg said. n Missouri man dies in hospital parking lot after being repeatedly denied care, family says By Gabrielle Masson D avid Bell died in the parking lot of Barnes-Jewish St. Peters (Mo.) Hospital during his third attempt to receive care, his wife told CBS affiliate KMOV. Sadie Bell told KMOV she took her husband to the emergency room twice for severe chest pain the week of Jan. 8. Both times, hospital staff prescribed him ibuprofen but did not admit Mr. Bell, according to Ms. Bell. Mr. Bell, director for Central County Fire, was taken to the same hospital after having difficulty breathing at work for a third time. When Ms. Bell arrived to Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital, she said Mr. Bell was sitting outside in a wheelchair. She told KMOV that she asked the hospital to run tests and admit him, but they declined. "He said, 'Ma'am he's already been here twice for the same thing and we've already diagnosed him,'" Ms. Bell told KMOV. She said her hus- band died before she could take him to another hospital. Ms. Bell believes her husband was dismissed by physicians and staff, according to KMOV. "Our thoughts are with the family after this loss, as well as with the entire Central County Fire & Rescue team," a hospital spokesperson told Becker's. "We cannot provide further comment due to patient privacy laws." n