Fatima patient death leads to safety probe by Dept. of Health

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Health last week issued a compliance order to St. Joseph Health Services requiring it to hire an independent quality consultant to review “numerous” deficiencies uncovered since the death of a mental patient in July.
On July 25, a 59-year-old woman fell from a window at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. A subsequent state probe found deficiencies in the way patients are transferred, in facilities maintenance, patient intake procedures, documentation of patient evaluation, and maintenance of medical records, the Health Department said.
“We are very concerned about the system currently in place at Fatima Hospital for ensuring the safety of patients”, said Dr. David R. Gifford, the state health director, who issued a reprimand to St. Joseph along with the compliance order.
The company, for its part, issued a statement saying it “considers patient care and safety to be of utmost importance” and that it “will work collaboratively to meet the terms of the compliance order” and has already begun to do so. In the meantime, the statement says, the psychiatric program “continues to accept and treat patients with an ongoing focus on high quality care in a safe and secure environment.”