Connecticut Attorney General Blumenthal Seeks Higher, National Benchmarks for Hospital Patient Safety!

For National Release February 20, 2007

Every year hundreds of thousands of patients are dying in hospitals all over the country from adverse drug reactions, deadly pressure wounds or from mistakes made during the operation and it has to stop NOW!  These are referred to as “Adverse Events.”  Only 10% of all adverse events are actually reported.

Present day legislation is geared to protect, coddle and unfortunately encourage the non-reporting of adverse events in the voluntary or mandatory reporting systems used by different states. In Connecticut, the law states that it is mandatory to report the event within 24 hours verbally and within 72 hours in  writing to the Department of Public Health, but it’s just not being done. The problem has reached epidemic proportions and it’s putting the lives of your loved ones in grave danger-young or old. The medical lobby is a strong opponent of penalties, but they must be dealt with and silenced for safety sake. “To Err is Human” is their excuse, rather than their initial pledge of ”First, Do No Harm.”

The elderly are more inclined to be subjected to these dangers due to age, which causes thinning of the skin and if they are in a reclining position and pressure is applied to bony areas of the body, the skin will easily break and develop into a pressure ulcer that can rapidly become fatal. The hospitals do not report these events as they are afraid of reprisals from the family in the form of a malpractice lawsuit and other selfish reasons. Reasonable people would be grateful to them for being more responsible by reporting the events so that a life could be saved or a permanent injury prevented in time. I also strongly urge that a family member insist that the hospitals allows you to visibly inspect the patient for any sores every 4-5 days to ensure that proper care is being performed. This will also be instrumental in preventing needless and very preventable serious injuries and deaths, as the honor system on it’s own-IS NOT WORKING. Most medical personnel are doing a great job but the bad ones have to answer and be punished.

Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, who is known for getting things done and assuring justice and protection for the citizens is on the verge of proposing new legislation to motivate hospitals, in particular, to report these events as required.. He, at present, is suggesting larger fines, which is good, but he is always open to citizen suggestions and ideas for additions to the proposed legislation that the lawmakers will eventually vote on and hopefully have the courage to pass. If you agree, please let the Attorney General know and I’m sure he will understand and will do his best to make it happen.

Some valid suggestions would be to make non-reporting of an event that results in a serious, permanent injury or death to be classified as a criminal offense. The penalties for this should be a minimum revocation of license and or incarceration or more. Some safety suggestions would be to initiate a mandatory, random drug and urine analysis program that would be performed every 6 months and to change the present law regarding the reporting of a Stage III pressure ulcer to a Stage II, which would alert the proper officials of this incident just as the skin breaks.  Anything less will just be status quo with more people dying daily.

The Attorney General should also be urged to speak to Medicare officials at the federal level and encourage them to change the present system, where an air fluidized bed is not supplied before the required 30 day preliminary waiting period, where just standard,  futile attempts at treatment usually fails. Medicare also requires the wound to be a Stage III before a bed will be supplied and the hospital reimbursed. This shows that Medicare is putting elderly patients in harm’s way to save a buck. It is not a humane thing to do and they should be brought to task and criticized for it. Perhaps this will wake up the lawmakers in Washington and they’ll make changes to this and many other unfortunate denials of care in effect at the present time.

If you are seeking information on pressure ulcers, you can contact a fine gentlemen by the name of Edward Comfort, PHD,  in Colorado, who heads up an organization called the National Decubitus Foundation, which he started in memory of his mother, who died of a pressure wound. His organization has been praised by many and has recently received a grant from the Christopher Reeve Foundation for being  helpful in bringing this national problem to light. You can reach Edward at: (303) 594-9417 or you can go on to his website at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it   NDF is a non-profit foundation that brings awareness to the problem.

Citizens of the United States and Connecticut, who wish to express their concerns to Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal regarding this important legislation may do so by calling: (860) 808-5318 or by sending an email to: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it    Please urge Mr. Blumenthal to lead the nation back to health by proposing effective and harsher legislation in Connecticut. He is truly a warrior for the people and he really cares. If he can’t get it done, no one can.

Baby boomers, who have appreciated a fine quality of life over the years, should be particularly concerned as over 80 million of us are at or approaching their elderly years and they will expect the best in care as they wish to enjoy longevity and do not want to encounter this type of danger. It must be eliminated immediately. Please pick up your phone and call or  turn on your computers and express your concern about these problems. and ask for stronger, harsher laws to promote patient safety. Nursing homes are already scrutinized and face harsh penalties, but hospitals get a free pass. That free pass has to be voided and they should be held accountable. If we stand up now and show our numbers and let our resounding voices be heard, then Mr. Blumenthal can and will set the standards for all the other states to follow suit in this important pursuit of patient safety and security. God Bless you all.

George Mandell
(866) 772-1922

 

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