Bennington-based Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has released a statement on a negligent emergency department death that occurred earlier in October, saying the incident was a result of two nurses failing to provide adequate care.
The statement follows the admittance of a patient complaining of back pain to the emergency room Oct. 2. The patient was found dead by a nonclinical staff member soon after the patient's initial assessment by nurses. Upon notification of this fact, the nurses did not check on the patient. Only after the nurse in charge discovered the death of the patient was a physician called to the bedside.
SVMC reported the incident to the state Oct. 2, and state surveyors conducted an inquiry Oct. 7. Surveyors found the hospital was not following its own policies at the time of the patient's death, including policies related to privacy, consent for treatment and immediate adverse event reporting.
SVMC has begun making several internal changes to remedy the incident, which could result in SVMC's being dropped from Medicare. The two nurses involved in the incident are "no longer treating [SVMC's] patients," according to a hospital official, though it is not evident whether the two will remain employed at the medical center.
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