Anesthesia problems at Sutter Solano Medical Center

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

report says california hospital posed immediate threat

a federal probe has revealed that problems found at sutter solano medical center in vallejo, calif., posed an immediate threat to the health and safety of its patients. the facility used unqualified and unsupervised technicians to administer anesthesia before at least 29 surgeries and kept inadequate records, according to the report.

ap/sacramento bee, july 15, 2004

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from sf gate

vacaville, calif. (ap) -- a two-week government investigation found that sutter solano medical center "posed an immediate and serious threat" to patients.

state and federal health investigators issued an "immediate jeopardy termination notice" last week, ordering the hospital to improve its anesthesiology and pharmacy services or lose more than $100 million in annual medicare and medicaid funding.

the ultimatum came after investigators found documents were missing and anesthetics were improperly handled.

sutter solano ceo beverly gilmore said most problems involved record keeping, not "quality of care issues," and said problems are being corrected. sutter solano is part of the sutter health network, the largest health care

provider in northern california.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/07/09/state1319edt0058.dtl

[Athlein1]

Be careful about believing what you read in mainstream media, especially as it pertains to complex medicolegal topics.

1. The anesthetics in question were administered by a qualified, experienced CRNA who has been delivering anesthesia since the Vietnam war, not a technician.

2. The issues at stake center around medical direction/supervision and the way records are charted and kept, not patient care.

3. The threat of immediate termination has been lifted.