The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has deemed Saint Vincent Hospital back in compliance with staffing requirements, after an investigation found the Worcester hospital failed to maintain a mandatory nurse-to-patient ratio for an organ-donating patient back in April.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has deemed Saint Vincent Hospital back in compliance with staffing requirements, after an investigation found the Worcester hospital failed to maintain a mandatory nurse-to-patient ratio for an organ-donating patient back in April.
DPH launched its investigation into Saint Vincent after receiving a number of complaints from the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the labor union representing hospital nurses, in May citing staffing and quality of care concerns, according to DPH incident reports obtained by WBJ. The concerns included an alleged April incident when “a dangerous nurse-patient ratio” forced a unit secretary with no clinical training to observe a patient themselves who was at risk of self harm.
The agency’s subsequent investigation identified a compliance issue with one out of the 10 patients it sampled. DPH reports Saint Vincent failed to provide a 1:1 nurse-to-patient staffing ratio on April 17 for a patient who was scheduled to donate their organs the following day.
The patient, who had been admitted post cardiac arrest with a suspected brain injury, required one-on-one monitoring in accordance with the hospital’s ICU protocol for organ donors, who are classified as extreme acuity patients.
Between 7 a.m. on April 17 and 7 a.m. on April 18, each nurse caring for the patient had been assigned an additional patient to supervise.
Tenet Healthcare, the Dallas-based operation of Saint Vincent, did not immediately reply to WBJ’s request for comment.
In response to DPH’s findings, Saint Vincent’s ICU staff restarted consistent use of its acuity evaluation tool on July 15, which is used to assess the level of needs and supervision for each patient.
On July 17, the ICU’s director evaluated the tool, later providing further education to the unit’s nurses, resource nurses, and house supervisors on Aug. 11. The hospital was determined to be back in compliance that same day.
This DPH investigation is the latest in
a string of investigations the agency has launched into Saint Vincent’s after the hospital’s nurses completed the
longest nurses strike in Massachusetts history in 2022.
The hospital is currently
searching for a new CEO, posting a job listing for the position just 10 months after Denten Park assumed the role following the swift exit of Carolyn Jackson.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and professional services industries.
