Scores of radiation overdoses at Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have been traced to a mistake the hospital made resetting a CT scanner. Hospital officials said that the error occurred in February 2008, when the hospital began using a new protocol for a specialized type of scan used to diagnose strokes, which meant resetting the machine to override the pre-programmed instructions that came with the scanner when it was installed. The dose of radiation was eight times what it should have been.
Three new international studies detailing how patients became gravely ill with swine flu reinforce concerns that U.S. intensive-care units could be severely stressed as the second wave of the disease builds through the fall and winter. The studies of patients in Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand were reported a week after the vaccine against the H1N1 flu began being distributed in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the disease has become widespread in 37 states.
Margaret M. Van Bree has been appointed CEO of St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, and also will serve as senior vice president of St. Luke's Episcopal Health System, effective Oct. 5. Van Bree has served as senior vice president/COO at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison since 2007. She also held the same or similar roles since 1999 at the University of Virginia Health System and Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis.
John T. Woodrich will become the president/COO of BryanLGH Medical Center on Dec. 1. He succeeds Craig Ames, who retired in June. Woodrich, a native of Omaha, has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare, beginning his career at Saint Joseph Hospital in Omaha. He currently is president/CEO of Mercy Health System of Kansas, serving as CEO of Mercy's medical centers in Independence and Fort Scott.
Gary W. Pulsipher has been named president/CEO of St. John's Regional Medical Center by Sisters of Mercy Health System in St. Louis. He will assume the role upon completion of the pending transfer of St. John's later this year to Sisters of Mercy Health System. St. John's currently is owned by Catholic Health Initiatives, of Denver, CO. Pulsipher will serve as a member of Mercy's transition team until the transfer is complete. Pulsipher will take over from George Caralis, who was named interim CEO in 2008. He succeeded Debbie Linnes, who recently accepted a position as president and CEO of the 266-bed Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.
St. David's Medical Center has named Susan E. Griffin as CNO. Griffin, formerly CNO of Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital—a part of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston—has more than 15 years of experience in the CNO role and more than 31 years of experience in nursing.