Ingalls Memorial Hospital Ratings & Violations

Ingalls Memorial Hospital is a 544-bed hospital providing cares and services to the residents of Cook County, Illinois. The facility is located at:

One Ingalls Drive
Harvey, IL 60426
(708) 333-2300

http://www.ingalls.org/

The local community provide diverse services including:

• Inpatient and outpatient surgery
• Orthopedic care
• Behavioral Health Care including addiction
• Cancer care
• Vascular and heart care
• Neuroscience
• Eye care
• Wound care
• Diabetes management
• Women services
• Interventional radiology
• Palliative and hospice care
• Rehabilitation services including physical, occupational and speech therapies
• Weight management
• Nutrition care

Illinois State Designations

Currently, Ingalls Memorial Hospital maintains the following designations:

• Perinatal II+
• Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics
• Primary Stroke Center

Patient Safety

Illinois and federal government regulators routinely monitor hospitals and medical facilities to quickly identify patient safety concerns and take immediate appropriate action when necessary. According to data supplied by the hospital to the Illinois Department of Health and other agencies, Ingalls Memorial Hospital reported the following medical errors which may be of concern to patients and their families.

Health Care-Associated Infections

• Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections in the Adult Medical Cardiac ICU (2017) with one reported infection in over 996 central-line days


• Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections in the Adult Medical/Surgical ICU (2017) with one reported infection in over 1375 central-line days


• Surgical Site Infections Associated with Total Knee Replacement Surgery (2017) with five reported infection occurring in over 258 procedures


• Surgical Site Infections Associated with Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery (2017) with one reported infection occurring in over 32 procedures.


• Healthcare Facility Onset Incident Rate of MRSA (2017) with two reported Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections occurring over 64,119 patient days.


• Healthcare Facility Onset Incident Rate of CDI (2017) with 44 reported facility-acquired highly contagious Clostridium difficile infections occurring over 59,571 patient days.

Safety Concerns

• Risk-adjusted Postoperative Lung Embolism or Deep Vein Thrombosis (clotting) (2015) 13 out of 2491 patients


• Accidental Puncture and Laceration (2015) 13 out of 11,612 patients


• Postoperative Hemorrhage or Hematoma (2015) 3 out of 2330 patients


• Pneumonia Patients Admitted to the Hospital within 30 days (between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017) – 17.6% of all patients treated at the facility for pneumonia were readmitted to the facility 30 days after departure for retreatment. This statistical percentage is slightly higher than the national average (16.9%) and Illinois average (17.37%).


• Pneumonia 30 Day Mortality Rate (between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2016) – 14.4% of all patients treated for pneumonia at the facility died within 30 days. This statistical rate is slightly lower than the national average (15.9%) and Illinois average (15.98%).


• Heart Failure Patients Readmitted to the Facility within 30 Days (between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017) – 21.6% of all patients treated for heart failure were readmitted to the facility within 30 days after discharge. This statistical rate is nearly identical to the national average (21.6%) and Illinois average (21.78%).


• Heart Failure 30 Day Mortality Rate (between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017) – 8.3% of all patients treated for heart failure at the facility died within 30 days. This statistical rate is significantly lower than the national average (11.9%) and Illinois average (11.67%).


• Heart Attack Patient Readmitted to the Facility within 30 Days (between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017) – 15.8% of all patients treated at the hospital for heart attack were readmitted to the facility 30 days after discharge for retreatment. The statistical percent is slightly lower than the national average (16.3%) and Illinois State average (16.4%).


• Heart Attack 30 Day Mortality Rate (between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017) – 12.3% of all patients treated for a heart attack at the facility died within 30 days after admittance. The statistical rate is identical to the national average (13.6%) and slightly higher than the Illinois average (13.32 percent).


• Hip Replacement Risk-Adjusted Mortality Rate for 2015 – 1 patients out of 206 died because of a hip replacement. This statistical risk-adjusted rate of 15.6 per 1000 patients is substantially higher than the Illinois average of 0.55 per 1000. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, this statistical rate is significantly worse than the State average.


• Heart Attack Deaths Risk-Adjusted Mortality Rate for 2015 – 9 out of 246 patients died of heart attacks at the facility. This risk-adjusted rate of 33.77 per 1000 patients is nearly identical to the Illinois average of 37.24 per 1000.


• Stroke-Associated Risk-Adjusted Mortality Rate for 2015 – 9 out of 252 patients died of a stroke at the hospital. This risk-adjusted rate of 38.99 per 1000 patients is significantly lower than the Illinois average of 61.56 per 1000 patients.

Maternal Safety and Utilization

• Birth Trauma (10/1/10 to 9/30/11) 1 out of 1,057 patients
• Obstetric Trauma – Vaginal without Instrument (2015) 7 out of 649 patients

Sample Medical Malpractice Claims and Awards involving Ingalls Memorial Hospital

$4,000,000 Settlement; Illinois Wrongful Death Claim

This hospital tragedy came on the heels of the birth of twin baby girls. The mother entered Ingalls Memorial Hospital in early December. Doctors determined that she should have a C-Section. The babies were delivered properly. They were healthy. However, just a few days later, trouble started to arise with the mother. Her blood pressure rose to dangerously high levels. Doctors told nurses and other staff to put her on medication. Yet, it appears that she never got it. That prescription error had disastrous effects. She went into cardiac arrest and sustained a brain injury. Subsequently, she died from the effects of these events. She was survived by her four children including her two recently born girls. This action was brought on their behalf. It was for negligence and wrongful death. The claim made a case for damages that the woman suffered prior to passing away as well as those that the kids would face indefinitely including grief, lost support, and lost companionship. It pointed to the lapse in judgment which denied the woman the medications she so badly needed. The hospital did not want to put the outcome of this dispute in the hands of a jury. It settled with the plaintiffs for a reported $4 million.

$2,500,000 Settlement; Illinois Hospital Neglect Case

Here, a man in his middle-sixties entered Ingalls Memorial Hospital for back surgery. The procedure was done at his own choosing. There was no dire medical emergency requiring it. Following the operation, staff did not properly supervise him. They neglected to check his respiratory levels. In fact, had they watched this, they would have seen them lower to dangerous levels. The man died when they got too low. His wife and children survived him. They sued the hospital and medical professionals involved in the tragedy. They cited negligence and wrongful death. For damages, they pointed to the man’s suffering, their loss, and bills including over $50,000 in hospital costs. The defendants chose to settle with the family. Ingalls compensated the plaintiffs to the tune of $1.5 million. The insurance policy of the anesthesiologists and doctors gave them another $1 million.

$1,100,000 Settlement; Illinois Surgical Error Case

A woman in her middle fifties brought this cause of action against an Illinois hospital (Ingalls Memorial) as well as the doctors who treated her. She went in for surgery. The operation was supposed to take care of problems with her bowels. However, in the course of that procedure, the surgeons lacerated her bowels. Then, to add insult to injury, the treating physicians failed to notice their mistake. This delay in diagnosis and care resulted in bowel syndrome, long-term diarrhea, and incontinence. The woman sued the facility and physicians. She pointed out the long-term discomfort, pain, and expense that their negligence and malpractice caused her. She plead for compensation related to the economic and non-economic damages that resulted. In a private settlement, the defendants offered her a combined $1.1 million compensation package to terminate the matter. She accepted.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers

If you were seriously harmed while you were a patient at Ingalls Memorial Hospital, your damages might have been caused by medical negligence. The Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC protect patients who have suffered an injury caused by mistakes and errors in any medical setting.

Contact our attorneys today to schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation to discuss the merits of your compensation claim. Our legal team accepts all personal injury case, wrongful death lawsuit, and medical malpractice claim through contingency fee agreements. This arrangement postpones the payment of legal services until after we have successfully resolved your case through a jury trial or negotiated an out of court settlement. All information you share with our law office remains confidential.

Sources:

• Website
• Ingalls Memorial Hospital