The allegations were in a complaint filed by nurses with the Oregon Health Authority late last month. According to the report, the complaint alleges inadequate staffing in the high-level trauma center’s operating room, and “this is putting the community at severe risk.”
Carla Stevens, a senior director of perioperative services at St. Charles, denied the assertions in an interview with OPB.
“We always have safe staffing here. We would never go to the operating room without the appropriate level of staff,” she said.
But one nurse recalled an instance where he went into the operating room “ready to go” but “no team [was] available.” He also contends elective surgeries have been postponed.
Ms. Stevens again denied the assertions, telling OPB: “Cases that come in through the ER [emergency room] are prioritized by their acuity. If it’s trauma, that’s prioritized. I know for a fact that this operating room does not take a patient into the OR without the appropriate resources, and I’m confident in that.”
David Lehrfeld, MD, with the OHA, told the publication his team investigated the complaint at the same time as a follow-up survey of quality measures.
Last year, the state found minor deficiencies within Bend-based St. Charles Health System, but Dr. Lehrfeld said its trauma center standing is not in jeopardy.
The hospital is awaiting findings from the state regarding the nurses’ complaint about staffing in the operating room, Ms. Stevens said.
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