A problem has developed with the St. Jude implanted heart device: A wire or lead that connects a defibrillator to a patient’s heart has been failing, often with fatal results. The lead, a model called Riata, has been used by more than 128,000 patients worldwide. The electrical wires within the…
Michelle Phibbs, 29, had a history of mental illness. She was admitted to Heartland Behavioral Healthcare, a state-run psychiatric hospital, for an inpatient stay after experiencing difficulty following the death of a close family friend. A psychiatrist diagnosed bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and alcohol abuse, among other problems, and…
Jonathan Rabkin, 53, went to a hospital emergency room complaining of the sudden onset of upper abdominal pain radiating to his back. The attending emergency room physician, Dr. Vikram Varma, ordered a chest x-ray and chest CT scan without contrast. Radiologist Dr. Paul Shieh interpreted the CT scan as showing…
A proposed Illinois law would limit the number of patients each hospital nurse would be allowed to care for at one time. The proposed legislation was based on a national survey, which suggested that such a rule would lead to better working conditions for nurses and would benefit patient care.…
Isatu Sheriff, 39, underwent the removal of a bunion by a podiatrist and was placed on blood thinners following the surgery. One week after finishing the blood thinning medicine, she went to an urgent care facility complaining of leg pain. An emergency room physician performed a workup for muscle pain…
Rodney Knoepfle, 67, suffered from significant health problems. He had a history of stroke and orthopedic and cardiac problems. Before all this took place, he executed an advance directive, which designated his wife to make healthcare decisions and stated his desire to forego life-sustaining healthcare treatment should that become necessary.…
Johnny Terrell Sledge, 24, suffered a gunshot wound to his back. He was taken to the DCH Regional Medical Center emergency room where an emergency room physician recognized the need for surgery. On-call trauma surgeon Dr. Bradley Bilton was paged repeatedly but responded that he was in surgery and that…
Christine Coffey was diagnosed as having a “berry aneurysm.” The vascular surgeon assigned to Coffey was Dr. Henry Woo who reviewed Coffey’s images and advised her that an untreated aneurysm could cause sudden death. Dr. Woo performed an Onyx brain aneurysm procedure. During the procedure, Coffey suffered brain damage that…
Questions about nursing home facilities’ staffing are always important to know whenever there is a report of an injury, neglect or abuse in any nursing home setting. A study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College concluded that when the economy is strong, death rates at nursing homes…
Many people are considering careers in the medical field, particularly in nursing. According to one study, the state of Michigan faces a critical shortage of nurses. In order to meet this estimated job shortage, many workers are changing from their current volatile careers to what they see as a more…