Sentinel Events in a Hospital

     If you are unfortunate enough to have to be a patient in a hospital for any reason, you run a risk of being a victim of some twenty- eight occurrences that should never happen. Many of these mishaps are labeled Sentinel Events. The definition of Sentinel Events as defined by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations is:

     A sentinel event is an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk therof.

     Listed below are some examples:

• Infant Abduction 
• Wrong Site Surgery
• Suicide
• Blood Transfusion Error 
• Medication Error
• Maternal Death

     What should you do?   Check the safety ranking of your hospital. Is it Joint Commission accreditated? Or is it on the Accreditation Watchlist with deficiencies that need correction? Get informed before you enter a hospital in your community.

     How do you check?     Internet:  www.jointcommission.org  Click on Sentinel Event. Click on statistics. If necessary, submit a question.

CODE PINK! Missing Children

CODE PINK! Missing Children

On Mother’s Day this year my thoughts turn to the many mother’s of abducted or missing children – 60,000 a year in the state of Texas alone. How devastated those mothers must feel at a time like this – a time when children shower their mothers with love and kisses, flowers, and candy.

Fortunately we do not have many newborn infants abducted from hospitals when they are only one and two days old. But it does happen. This year the abduction from a Lubbock, Texas hospital brought that fact to the stark realization of every media reader.

Every mother, mother-to-be, and every grandparent should inquire into what measures their hospitals take to prevent newborn abduction. It can happen in any hospital.

The frequency of missing and exploited children is everyone’s moral and ethical responsibility. Click on the web site for National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: www.missingkids.com. It’s an eye opener! When you see the pictures on the home page, click on more. It is heart rending..