Hospital Chief Calls Quaid Tragedy "Preventable Error"

76. Cedars-Sinai is very over rated. It would not be my choice of hospitals in the LA area. People think that because they get a lot of PR and celebrities go there it is a good hospital. They are wrong. Buyer beware.
dt

Posted at 10:59AM on Nov 21st 2007 by dt

77. my father was over dosed on heperin at selby general hospital in marietta ohio. he stopped breathing and they had to put in a trach. he had uncontrollable bleeding everywhere. his kidneys shut down. it was pretty sad. it could have all been avoinded and if the propper medicine was used afterwards, vitimen k. he wouldnt have died.

Posted at 11:06AM on Nov 21st 2007 by margie bloomfield

78. I am not defending what Cedar Sinai did in any way but, these things happen because of poorly staffed units. There are not enough nurses and we have too many patients to take care of and we are sorely UNDERPAID. I wish the best for the twins and the others who received the wrong dose and believe whole heartely that the hospital should pay.

Posted at 11:19AM on Nov 21st 2007 by Millissa

79. The reason that several folks are blaming GW Bush is because he is the one who enforces the medical malpractice law. This law protects doctors and prevents them from being sued. That is why the hospital is a very scary place. Doctors can get a way with murder these days.

Posted at 11:31AM on Nov 21st 2007 by bellarue

80. Personally, I think the person resposible for this "mistake" should be fired. There should never be a margin for error when it comes to human life, especially if that human life is a newborn infant!

Posted at 11:41AM on Nov 21st 2007 by Jessica

81. The same situation happened earlier this year at an Indianapolis hospital. The wrong dose of heparin given to new born babies. They said at the time that the drug was supplied to the hospital in small and large doses in VERY SIMILAR packages, and the staff was supposed to check small print on labels to tell the difference. The drug maker at the time said they would change the packages to make them easier to tell apart. The incident in Indianapolis should have been a warning to other hospitals. This should NOT keep happening!

Posted at 11:56AM on Nov 21st 2007 by Suzanne

82. This whole situation just stinks of negligence. I don't care HOW underpaid or HOW overworked you are, nurses or hospital staff... there is NO NO NO reason to make such a HORRID mistake.

I hope that Dennis and his wife become advocates for reform in how drugs are administered in hospitals. I hope in my heart of hearts that those twins recover 100%, and that the hospital and everyone involved is punished to the fullest.

I worked for an assisted living community, and when outr med supervisors made mistakes with meds, they were fired. It's that serious.

Posted at 12:21PM on Nov 21st 2007 by Sue Dennis, Sue!

83. Sounds like a "Quad-lude " overdose to me.

Posted at 12:25PM on Nov 21st 2007 by Roger C

84. This is certainly a very sad and unfortunate situation. But for those of you liberals, who love to blame Bush for absolutey everything...this situation certainly has nothing to do with him. These doctors are human, like you and me. Unfortunately, mistakes happen. They are not God...they are not perfect. Our society has become so ridiculously litigious. Someone makes a mistake...and you all want to immediately sue them. I think that's absurd.

And to go back go our President, who should be respected, even if your opinion does differ from his, has nothing to do with situations like this.

Liberals love the blame game don't they... For once, why don't ya'll look in the mirror... Or maybe you're too busy talking about others!

Posted at 12:59PM on Nov 21st 2007 by LMBfromOhio

85. It just proves that bad (or nice) things can happen to anybody...

Posted at 12:34PM on Nov 21st 2007 by Abagil

86. As a former RN, I can say that med errors should NEVER happen if proper procedure is followed. No matter how small or similar the print on a drug container, it is the responsibility of the nurse or doctor administering the medication to check the labeling three times- when the nurse picks up the med container, when you check the order for the drug, and just before you give the drug and check the name bracelet of the person receiving the drug.

Posted at 12:42PM on Nov 21st 2007 by Xan P

87. If the babies were given 10,000 units instead of just 10 units, the effect should be disastrous. Babies already have trouble clotting, which is why they are given Vitamin K at birth. The enormity of this heparin mistake is heart-stopping alarming.

Posted at 12:53PM on Nov 21st 2007 by Lia

88. My Mom was dropped ,while in a coma, her head split open, and no Lawyer would touch her case becuse she entered the hospital through the emergancy room, and there is a $300,000 cap on that, so the lawyers [ all 5 I spoke to] refused to handle it as it wasn;t "worth" their time.

Posted at 1:10PM on Nov 21st 2007 by biglee

89. 16. don_pap...heparin is also used to keep lines (IVs, arterial lines, etc) patent. A small dosage is used to keep blood in the IV catheter from clotting up the line.

oh, and don't be so quick to blame nurses. pharmacists at our hospital mix the drugs and give it to us in a syringe labeled with the drug name & concentration, patient name, etc. If they labeled it incorrectly, the nurse couldn't have known it was the wrong concentration. I don't know the specifics to this situation but I can see how the nurse would not be at fault but rather the pharmacist.

Posted at 11:47PM on Nov 20th 2007 by GG

____________________________________
since when did Nurses GIVE ANY MEDS IN A SYRINGE THAT THEY DID NOT MEASURE AND DRAW UP THEMSELVES? When I worked as a nurse and also as a medication specialist thats was the first rule. YOU NEVER give A SYRINGE FILLED MED UNLESS YOU DREW IT UP YOURSELF. Have things gotten to this point in trying to save time and money? also, let me say this. I quit Nursing when HMO'S started up because thats when, to save money, hospital cut back on Nurses , doubled their patient loads. It was and still is, (as evidenced here) what a horrible thing HMO's were and still are.

Posted at 1:07PM on Nov 21st 2007 by notanightingaleanymore

90. You're an idiot bellarue if you think hospitals and doctors want to "get away with nurder!" Good grief....grow up.

Posted at 1:29PM on Nov 21st 2007 by carol