We all become anxious when we are hospitalized. For many the anxiety is tripled when surgery is involved. We are concerned about complications encountered during the surgical procedure. We are concerned about the pain we will likely experience after the surgery. We dread the physical therapy and rehabilitation that will last weeks and sometimes months after the surgery.
At least that is all we have to be anxious and worry about.
WRONG!
This week we learned the largest hospital in Western Virginia, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, is having problems delivering clean surgical instruments to its Operating Rooms. It appears an anonymous complaint filed with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) alleged that a higher than normal number of surgical instruments were arriving in the operating room with blemishes, and in one case, with bits of suture and an alcohol pad stuck to the metal. An investigation followed and the VDH found the hospital to be in “immediate jeopardy,” a serious indicator that patient safety was at risk, and without correction, the hospital could have lost funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Read the full story in Cardinal News.
Just one more thing to worry about when facing surgery.
