California hospital notifies wrong family about patient death

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital called the wrong family about a patient's death, NBC Bay Area reported June 15. 

On the morning of June 13, Janet Brown's family was celebrating her retirement when her husband Vannest received a call from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. 

"I'm sorry to inform you that your son has been shot and has passed away," said the hospital employee. 

The couple has a 30-year-old son and was prepared to head to San Francisco when they decided to call back and ask for a description. Two hours after the initial call, the hospital employee described a man four inches taller and 50 pounds heavier than their son. 

The deceased man did have Mr. Brown's identification in his possession, according to the report. It is still unclear how he obtained it. 

This was an isolated incident, Zuckerberg San Fransico General Hospital told Becker's in a June 16 statement. Hospital protocol dictates that staff notify emergency contacts about a patient in distress as soon as possible, which they did, according to the statement. 

"When the patient passed away, it was discovered the deceased did not match the identification information in their possession. Staff verified this misidentification with the emergency contacts," the statement said. "ZSFG follows a strict protocol to ensure proper identification of patients and emergency contacts. We deeply regret the situation and apologize for the impacts to those involved." 

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Articles We Think You'll Like

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars