WARWICK – Kent Hospital, a Care New England facility, has agreed with the R.I. Department of Health to invest at least $1.7 million into patient identification and verification systems after reporting two procedures on the wrong area of patients’ bodies and two incidents in which catheter guidewires were left inside patients.
According to RIDOH, the investment will be made in lieu of regulatory action for the following medical errors:
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- Dec. 6, 2017: Re-excision (removal of tissue) from the wrong area of a patient’s right breast.
- March 14, 2018: Incision on the left abdomen in preparation for removal of a kidney intended for the right abdomen.
- April 10, 2018: Insertion of a catheter with a guidewire that was left in the patient.
- May 20, 2018: Insertion of a catheter with a guidewire that was left in the patient.
Following the first two reports, the health department investigated the first two medical errors and instructed Kent to correct deficiencies. While the hospital was verifying that correctional measures had been put in place, the final two medical errors occurred and were reported by Kent.
In reviewing those incidents, RIDOH determined Kent had failed to implement written policies for site/side verification during procedures and the prevention of foreign objects left inside patients.
“We take the matters raised in these findings very seriously and, from the very beginning, self-reported all of these events to the R.I. Department of Health,” Care New England said in a statement Friday attributed to Dr. James E. Fanale, president and CEO, Care New England, and Dr. Raymond O. Powrie, interim president, Kent Hospital. “We are grateful to the R.I. Department of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for their careful review, assessment and guidance to enhance our own internal reviews.”
According to a consent agreement between the hospital and RIDOH, hospital executives met with health department officials June 13, where the institution presented a 100-day turnaround plan it had voluntarily begun in March 2018, after the second medical error was reported.
The agreement states Kent will use at least $1 million of the pledged amount toward improving its policies for site/side verification during procedures and preventing the leaving of foreign objects inside patients. The amount will first be applied to addressing the deficiencies related to the errors, including any recommendations made by the Joint Commission, a nonprofit, accreditation and certification organization for health care in the United States. That may also include $330,000 in salary for training and retraining existing staff in verification of procedures and preventing foreign objects left inside patients.
The hospital must also immediately contract with and pay for an independent expert compliance contractor to oversee the terms and remediations, to start Aug. 1, 2018, and remain for either one year or until the terms of the consent agreement are met.
“The quality and safety of care are top priorities for Kent Hospital and the R.I. Department of Health,” said Director of Health Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott. “Kent Hospital has been very proactive and responsive in working with the R.I. Department of Health to address these errors. These kinds of committed partnerships are critical to ensuring that Rhode Island’s hospitals retain their status as being among the preeminent health care facilities in the region and the country.”
Care New England continued in its statement, saying, “Specific to the findings highlighted in today’s agreement, Kent Hospital and Care New England have begun an active and aggressive improvement plan that is resulting in a complete and thorough review of our safety culture and practices, hospital-wide education, retraining and recommitment to a level of excellence that will be unsurpassed. Much of this work and financial investment already began prior to the findings issued today and includes disciplinary action, policy and procedure review, competency assessment, auditing of compliance with policies and protocols, and prospectively maintaining a constant state of renewed diligence toward adherence and compliance.”
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
