Media Release

For: Immediate Release
Date: September 11, 2007

CORRECTION

Department of Health Reviewing Patient Safety Issues at St. Joseph Health Services

Today the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) issued a compliance order to St. Joseph Health Services that requires the facility to hire an independent quality consultant to review numerous deficiencies cited by HEALTH during a recent investigation. The deficiencies were related to the issues of procedures for the transfer of patients, maintenance of the facility’s physical environment, patient intake procedures, documentation of proper patient evaluation, and maintenance of medical records. As part of the compliance order, the facility has also been issued a formal reprimand. (The compliance order is available on HEALTH’s website: www.health.ri.gov/hsr/facilities/hospitals/compliance_order_SaintJosephs.pdf)

The investigation, which involved HEALTH and the Department of Mental Health, Retardation, and Hospitals (MHRH), followed the death of a 59-year-old patient who fell from a window at Fatima Hospital on August 19, 2007.  Hospitals are required to report such events to HEALTH within 24 hours.

“We are very concerned about the system currently in place at Fatima Hospital for ensuring the safety of patients”, said Director of Health, David R. Gifford, MD, MPH. “We therefore are requiring the hospital to take steps to find the root causes of the circumstances that led to this death and to submit a plan for addressing the issues. We will also be looking at the health professionals involved with the incident.”
 
Effective immediately, the hospital is required to submit to HEALTH a plan to correct the deficiencies and to hire a quality monitor to evaluate and make recommendations regarding 1) the safety and security of patient care units and 2) the hospital’s implementation and documentation of an ongoing safety and preventive maintenance program.