Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Transplant Patient At N.J. Hospital Mistakenly Receives Kidney Meant For Someone Higher On Priority List
The Associated Press: Hospital: Kidney Went To Wrong Transplant Patient
A New Jersey hospital says a kidney meant for one patient was mistakenly transplanted into another with the same name who was farther down the priority list. Virtua Health says the Nov. 18 operation on a 51-year-old patient at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden was successful. But officials then discovered the patient was given the kidney out of priority order because “unusually, the individual who should have received the organ has the same name and is of similar age.” (11/27)
The Baltimore Sun: Legislators Concerned About Auditor’s Complaints That University Of Maryland Medical System Is ‘Hindering’ His Probe
Maryland lawmakers say they’re concerned and closely monitoring the University of Maryland Medical System’s behavior after the state’s top legislative auditor said the hospital network was “hindering” his work. Some legislative leaders, including the sponsors of sweeping reform legislation passed this year after a self-dealing scandal at UMMS, say more bills could be needed if the hospital network refuses to comply with the state audit. (Broadwater and Rector, 11/27)
The CT Mirror: Watchdog Organization Calls For 'Drastic Change' At Whiting Forensic Hospital
A report released Tuesday morning by a disability rights advocacy group found “widespread systemic deficiencies” at Whiting Forensic Hospital and called on state lawmakers to “enact immediate reforms” to protect the safety and rights of patients at Whiting and Connecticut Valley Hospital. It isn’t the first investigation of the state-run maximum security psychiatric hospital to conclude there’s a need for systemic improvements. (Lyons, 11/26)
Boston Globe: Brigham And Women’s To Launch Center For Research On Rare Liver Disease
Brigham and Women’s Hospital said that it is launching a first-in-the-nation center to undertake research into primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare chronic liver disease that can only be treated effectively by a liver transplant. The new center, under the direction of Dr. Joshua Korzenik, will take a multipronged approach to finding new treatments for the disease, which affects about 30,000 people in the United States, most of them young men, hospital officials said in a statement. (Finucane, 11/26)
Seattle Times: Before Mea Culpa, Children’s Was Confident Its Air Systems Weren’t Source Of Infection
Children’s repeated struggles to eradicate mold from its operating rooms have forced it to reschedule or delay surgeries, opened it to new litigation and put a cloud over the reputation of the esteemed pediatric hospital. But the hospital’s disclosures raise questions that executives so far have declined to answer in detail. After infections spanning 18 years and allegations implicating its air-handling system, why has the hospital only now reached this conclusion? Why didn’t the hospital install the superior quality air filters – currently used for three of its operating rooms – for all of them before now? (Gilbert and Gutman, 11/26)
California Healthline: Coping With (Power) Loss: California’s Hospitals, Clinics, Patients Face New Reality
We all know that when the power goes out, refrigerators, heaters and air conditioners stop running. Homes go dark, and desktop computers shut down. But those are mere inconveniences. If you need regular dialysis or chemotherapy at a clinic, or you have an infant in a neonatal intensive care unit or a loved one on a hospital ventilator, a loss of power carries far more dire implications. (Kreidler, 11/26)
