Hospital reports sentinel event after safety publicly questioned
Accreditation Connection, May 2, 2005
Virginia Mason Medical Center in Washington reported a sentinel event to state regulators recently, after an anonymous list of safety deficiencies written on hospital letterhead was released, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Hospital officials reported several inaccuracies in the letter signed by "Concerned Members of the VMMC Health Care Team." It was given to the media and the lawyer of a family suing the hospital over the death of a relative.
The hospital said two weeks ago that it turned results of an unnamed sentinel event over to the state health department for review. Officials said they found no deficiencies or violations by the hospital upon review.
Reporting sentinel events to the JCAHO is voluntary. The accreditor says such events signal the need for immediate investigation and response.
To read more, click here to connect to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer story.
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