A mental patient died after workers at a North Carolina hospital left him in a chair for 22 hours without feeding him or helping him use the bathroom, said federal officials. The officials have threatened to cut off Goldsboro-based Cherry Hospital funding. A state team has been sent to the facility to help draft new procedures to ensure patients receive proper care.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has reversed a previous decision, which now paves the way for St. Joseph's Hospital to construct a 90-bed facility in Riverview. The new hospital is expected to improve access to emergency care and other services, and also reduce patients' travel time.
More physicians are apologizing for medical errors, thanks to a growing national patient safety movement. Although it was rare in the past, several groups are beginning to urge hospitals and doctors to say they're sorry when mistakes happen.
Patients experiencing chemotherapy, radiation treatments, MRIs, CT scans, and the like oftentimes have the experience worsened by dreary, windowless rooms, and corridors. But now some institutions that they can make these areas more appealing, and in turn ease patients' stress and fear. The heightened focus on patient-treatment areas represents the latest effort by healthcare providers to redesign facilities with patients in mind and possibly improve their outcomes in the process.
Eighteen California hospitals have been fined by the state for violating laws regarding quality care for patients. It marked the fourth time the department has disciplined hospitals since a state law went into effect in 2007 authorizing the agency to fine them for placing patients in serious jeopardy. All hospitals in California are required to comply with state and federal laws to remain accredited.
Older trauma patients are less likely to be transported to an official trauma center for immediate care than younger patients, according to a review of a decade's worth of Maryland's statewide emergency medical services records. The findings also suggest that the difference in care first comes into play as patients reach age 50 and worsens again at age 70. The researchers found that about 18% of trauma patients under the age of 65 were not taken to a trauma center, while almost 50% of patients over the age of 65 were similarly undertreated.