NEWS STORY Jul 28, 2010
Ten days ago, Abelino Mazariego was attacked and beaten by three teenagers. He was rushed to Overlook Hospital, unconscious, where he eventually died last week from his injuries. After Abelino arrived at the hospital, to add insult to injury — so to speak — his wife discovered that $640 was stolen from his wallet.
The police were contacted, and eventually had a suspect who confessed to stealing the money. It ended up being a nurse at the hospital (who has since been fired), Stephan Randolph. He was charged this past Monday with third-degree theft.
As for the teenagers who attacked Abelino, they have been charged with murder.
Read more at: Alternative Press.
NEWS STORY Jul 09, 2010
A whistle-blower lawsuit was filed against Rush University Medical Center, a teaching hospital in Chicago. The suit accuses the orthopedic department and 6 of its surgeons for violating Medicare practices.
One of the violations detailed in the suit involves the surgeons not supervising their residents during surgery, but billing Medicare as if they were there. Often they would supervise through close-circuit television, and supposedly in at least one case the surgeon did not enter the operating room at all.
Some of the whistle-blower’s claims have been settled already by the medical center and the US government. You can read more at the link below.
Read more at: Chicago Tribune.
NEWS STORY Jul 06, 2010
California’s Board of Registered Nursing has discovered around 3,500 nurses that are still licensed in California but had received discipline in other states. Some have even had their licenses revoked, but they continued to maintain a clean record in California.
The issue was uncovered when the board ran its registry of nurses against a national database run by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. 37 states and Washington, D.C. voluntarily report disciplinary actions to this national database.
Now, the board has announced that 2,000 of these nurses will face sanctions. However, the nurses will be allowed to practice freely and their names will remain undisclosed while the cases are pending.
Read more at: LA Times.
NEWS STORY Jul 01, 2010
John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis just sent out letters to 1,812 patients, informing them that they may have been infected with HIV or hepatitis. This is because they could have been exposed to contaminated dental instruments.
For more than a year, the hospital failed to follow proper cleaning procedures. According to protocol, the dental instruments were supposed to only be cleaned by special cleaning machines. In an attempt to protect the delicate instruments, dental technicians instead hand-washed them with soap and water before having the machines clean them.
The hospital has set up a special clinic and hotline to deal with potentially infected patients.
Read more at: CNN.
NEWS STORY Jun 25, 2010
A doctor in the UK has admitted to helping 18 of his patients die using medication, including his own son. His name is Dr. Howard Martin, and he is now 75 years old. In at least two cases, he admitted to not having the consent of the patient. According to him, he helped the patients die to end their suffering.
As a result, he has been struck off by the General Medical Council.
Even though he was cleared of two murders in 2005, there is no law against double jeopardy in England and Wales. Police are now looking into whether to reopen the cases.
Read more at: Wales Online.
NEWS STORY Jun 21, 2010
A judge in San Francisco has temporarily barred around 11,000 nurses from striking. He did so on the basis that a strike would pose too much of a danger to public health.
A dispute is under way between the in the University of California medical system and the California Nurses Association regarding new contracts set to begin this September. The nurses had planned a walk-out on June 10, but was barred by the court. The dispute, however, remains ongoing.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, a strike of about 12,000 nurses occurred on June 10, with additional strikes possible as the Minnesota Nurses Association resumes negotiation with hospitals there.
NEWS STORY Jun 17, 2010
Dr. Neelu Pal was a surgical resident at NYU Langone Medical Center where bariatric surgery, including the lap-band, was performed. During the course of her training, she became alarmed at how things were being done at the hospital.
After witnessing the death of a patient in 2006, Dr. Pal took it upon herself to be vigilent on behalf of future patients. On weekends when she had time, Dr. Pal would anonymously phone patients who were scheduled for lap-band surgery. Pretending to be someone else, such as an operating nurse, she would warn the patients that she “had watched many patients die from the procedure.”
She would go on to encourage the patients to get surgery elsewhere, insisting that “there were serious quality issues with the bariatric surgery program” at that hospital.
The patient who died in 2006 was Rhonda Frieberg. She had bariatric surgery followed immediately by plastic surgery. Just 36 hours after surgery, Rhonda died from cardiac arrest.
The New York Department of Health had reviewed and found that the hospital did not properly monitor Rhonda after surgery. In addition, one of the surgeons testified that some of the physicians hired by the hospital were unlicensed.
In Rhonda’s case, NYU settled for $973,000.
Not long after Dr. Pal started calling patients anonymously, an NYU investigation eventually pointed her to be the prime suspect. She confessed and was suspended and fired for making the calls. Her bosses called this an “egregious example of unprofessional and irresponsible behavior.”
Dr. Pal finished her training at University Medical Center at Princeton. She also sued NYU for whistleblower retaliation. Last month, Dr. Pal and NYU agreed to settle the case for an undisclosed sum.
