DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — HSHS St. Mary's Hospital in Decatur is under scrutiny by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) along with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission (JC).
The hospital was placed on Immediate Jeopardization status for an incident in the Emergency Department on March 5th, 2024. Investigators said the hospital failed to provide a safe setting for patients. St. Mary's was just cleared March 25th, 2024 by IDPH, and investigators said the hospital is now in compliance.
The Illinois Department of Public Health released investigations completed by the DHHS and CMS. Records show a female patient arrived at St. Mary's Hospital, by ambulance on the morning of Feb. 27, 2024. The patient was escorted by police, and said she had come from a nearby hospital but was seeking drug rehabilitation services.
Nurses report the patient began yelling and acting erratically, so she was sedated. A urine screening found the patient had cannabinoids, methamphetamine and amphetamine in her system. At about 10 a.m., the patient was placed in wrist and ankle restraints and further sedated. Nurses reports show she was given additional sedatives, and remained shackled to the hospital bed.
At 8 p.m. a nurse went into the patient's room and found her not breathing and without a pulse. Staff used a benzodiazepine reversal medication and naloxone to get her pulse back. The patient was then transferred to another hospital for care.
Investigators found vitals were not taken from 8:15 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., when she coded. This despite the patient being given 30mg of Zyprexa IM, 17.5mg of Versed IM and she was started on Precedex. These medications can all cause cardiovascular side effects.
Investigators said other patients could be at risk, because of the policies and protocols in place at the hospital. St. Mary's was placed on Immediate Jeopardization status until trainings and new protocols could be implemented.
After extensive trainings and new procedures were launched, IDPH and DHHS investigators visited St. Mary's a final time for review and determined the hospital is now in compliance.
In a statement to WAND News, a spokesman said:
“HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital collaborates with The Joint Commission and Illinois Department of Public Health on a regular basis. We value any feedback we receive to support our commitment to provide safe, quality care to our patients and the community.”
WAND News will continue following this developing story.
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