Recently, CNN published an article on what is possibly every new parent’s worst nightmare: that their baby has been born into a hospital that has an especially high mortality rate associated with a surgery that their child needs. Specifically, the article followed one family who was suffering after their newborn had open heart surgery at St. Mary’s Medical Center, and who experienced serious complications.
Hospitals Dangerously Inexperienced At Performing Complex Surgeries
At issue in this particular hospital is how inexperienced the staff are at performing specific surgeries. And yet, they continue to perform them, potentially for financial incentives. We previously covered a similar phenomenon happening at rural hospitals; small hospitals unqualified to perform very specific surgeries, but performing them, regardless.
Similar to our previous report, multiple studies now show the same conclusion over and over again: hospitals that do not get a lot of practice with particular surgeries tend to have higher mortality rates associated with performing those surgeries. Specifically, performing fewer than 100 cases of a particular type of surgery is considered “low volume” for a hospital or practice. In St. Mary’s case, they performed an average of 18 total cases in 2014, where 40 percent of pediatric heart surgery centers in America (the standard) perform more than 250 cases per year. In other words, St. Mary’s suffered from a lack of experience; “if you use a skill only occasionally, it’s hard to develop,” as one doctor noted.
Parents Lied To
At this particular hospital (St. Mary’s Medical Center), according to CNN, the mortality rate for babies having heart surgery there was three times the national average by the end of 2013. Specifically, at least eight babies have died there since the open heart surgery program began four years ago, and some of these parents allege that they were misinformed; specifically, they were told—before surgery was performed on their children—that the doctor hadn’t lost any babies while performing this surgery.
Secrecy
And yet why were so many of these parents referred to St. Mary’s for surgery by other cardiologists, who they trusted, in the first place? And why is it impossible to find out any of this information online? CNN had to file a public records act request with the state in order to obtain information on how many babies had died after having open heart surgery at St. Mary’s.
There are additional unanswered questions; those specifically asked by expert pediatric heart doctors in the state. For example, why was the original condition attached to St. Mary’s right to perform pediatric heart surgery—the condition that they had to work under the training and expertise of the University of Miami, which runs its own pediatric surgery heart program—removed mysteriously? And why has the one doctor who performed all of these surgeries at St. Mary’s–where the babies died–not been barred from continuing to perform them?
Scathing Reviews
After many alarming reports of babies dying at the hospital, a team of five independent pediatric heart doctors performed an independent review of the hospital’s pediatric heart program. The reviews were horrifying and indicated that many vital tests and services were not being performed.
The doctors also came to the same conclusion that multiple studies have: the number of specific surgical procedures performed at the hospital was too low for the institution and its staff to acquire and maintain proficiency in these types of procedures.
Finally, the issue became so severe that expert associations recommended that St. Mary’s not perform any heart surgeries on babies under six months old, and no complex cardiac procedures whatsoever on older babies and children. However, the hospital avoided this advice.
Let Us Help If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured
When your medical care falls below the established standard, you have the option of holding those responsible for medical malpractice. A hospital should not take on a specific procedure unless it is qualified to do so, regardless of other incentives. However, sometimes it takes lawsuits from concerned patients to make them do the right thing and not operate below the standard.
If you have been the victim of medical negligence, contact the attorneys at Harrell & Nowak for a free consultation today and we can get started helping you.