Hospital Administration Expert Comments on Inadequate Care Leading to Infant's Death

Case Overview

This case involves a female patient who was being seen by her family medicine physician for her prenatal and post-partum care. Her physician ordered an ultrasound due to the low growth of the baby in utero. An ultrasound was performed which revealed troubling signs of cardiac distress, and a follow-up ultrasound was ordered. The defect was noted on the patient’s records. Some time later, the patient was admitted to the hospital to have labor induced due to preeclampsia, however, during this time none of the patient’s doctors noted the earlier ultrasound findings. After the child was born, the mother’s doctor noted that the baby was failing to thrive, and several nurses had indicated concern over the baby’s condition. Nevertheless, the baby was discharged without further workup. It was later discovered that the child was suffering from a severe case of Erb’s Palsy and a serious cardiac issue that would have benefited greatly from earlier intervention.

Questions to the Hospital Administration expert and their responses

Do you serve as a hospital administrator at a facility with labor & delivery/neonatal units?

I have extensive experience as a hospital administrator.

Have you ever reviewed a similar case in the past?

The issues for me are bread and butter: A.) Know the patient for whom you are caring for, read the record and do the required follow-up. B.) With this prenatal history, was the baby ever referred to a maternal fetal medicine doctor? Why is a family medicine doctor providing care to this high-risk pregnancy? Did this hospital have pediatric cardiology and pediatric cardiothoracic surgery? The child should have been born at a facility that could have provided the necessary care. C.) I am just tongue-tied on what to say about the lack of attention by the staff to the baby's condition at the time of discharge.

About the expert

This expert has spent over 17 years dedicated solely to the administrative processes of healthcare systems. He earned his MD from George Washington University and his JD from Case Western Reserve University. He completed his Internal Medicine residency and Nephrology fellowship at the University Hospitals of Cleveland. He has served in multiple administrative positions in the past, including as the Director of the Montefiore Nursing Home, the Chair of the Board for the Center for Dialysis Care, the VPMA/CMO of Mountainside Hospital, and the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Brooklyn Hospital Center. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at a prominent Ohio law school and has extensive experience consulting in the healthcare industry.

E-023880

Specialties:

Hospital Administration

Hospital Administration Expert Comments on Inadequate Care Leading to Infant’s Death