John H Stroger Jr. Hospital Ratings & Violations

John H Stroger Jr Hospital is a 464-bed hospital providing cares and services to the residents and visitors of Cook County, Illinois. The facility is located at:

1901 W Harrison St
Chicago IL 60612
(312) 864-6000

http://www.cookcountyhhs.org/locations/john-h-stroger-jr-hospital/

The Chicago metropolitan area hospital provides services and cares to the local community that includes:

• Emergency medicine
• Pain management
• Pathology
• Pediatric care
• Surgical procedures
• Psychiatry
• Imaging including MRI, CT scans, x-rays, and ultrasounds
• Physical, occupational, hearing, speech, and language therapies
• Family medicine

Illinois State Designations

Currently, H Stroger Jr Hospital maintains the following Illinois State designations:

• Perinatal III
• Adult Trauma Center I
• Pediatric Trauma Center I
• Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics
• Primary Stroke Center

Patient Safety

The state of Illinois and federal government agencies routinely monitor every hospital and medical center statewide to quickly identify any patient safety concerns and take appropriate action when necessary. According to data supplied by the hospital to the Illinois Department of Health and other agencies, John H Stroger Jr Hospital reported the following medical errors which may be of concern to patients and their families.

Healthcare-Associated Infections

• Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections in the Adult Trauma ICU (for 2017) with two reported infections over 1365 central-line days


• Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections in the Adult Surgical ICU (for 2017) with zero reported infections over 1386 central-line days


• Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections in the Adult Medical ICU (for 2017) with one reported infection over 2486 central-line days


• Central Line-Associated Infections in the Level III Neonatal ICU (for 2017) with zero reported infections over 2267 central-line days


• Healthcare Facility Onset Incident Rate of MRSA for 2017 – The facility reported four acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections over 107,411 patient days.


• Healthcare Facility Onset Incident Rate of CDI for 2017 – The hospital reported 60 facility-acquired highly contagious Clostridium difficile infections over 97,142 patient days.

Safety Concerns

• Risk-adjusted Postoperative Lung Embolism or Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT clotting) (for 2015) 18 out of 2792 patients


• Accidental Puncture and Laceration (10/1/10 to 9/30/11) 20 out of 14,544 patients


• Postoperative Respiratory Failure (for 2015) Ten out of 1103 patients. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the statistic is significantly worse in the State average.


• Postoperative Hemorrhage or Hematoma (for 2015) 14 out of 2609 patients


• Pneumonia Patients Admitted to the Hospital within 30 days (between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017) – 19.6 % of all patients treated at the facility for pneumonia were readmitted to the facility 30 days after departure for retreatment. This statistical percentage is significantly higher than the national average (16.9%) and Illinois average (17.37%).


• Pneumonia 30 Day Mortality Rate (between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017) – 13.4% 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) – 23.7% of all patients treated for heart failure were readmitted to the facility within 30 days after discharge. This statistical rate is slightly higher than the national average (21.6%) and Illinois average (21.78%).


• Heart Failure 30 Day Mortality Rate (between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017) – 10.8% of all patients treated for heart failure at the facility died within 30 days. This statistical rate is slightly 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) – 18.4% 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 higher than the national average (16.3%) an Illinois State average (16.4%).


• Heart Attack 30 Day Mortality Rate (between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2017) – 11.9% of all patients treated for a heart attack at the facility died within 30 days after admittance. The statistical rate is slightly lower than the national average (13.6%) and Illinois average (13.32 percent).


• Hip Fracture-Associated Risk-Adjusted Mortality Rate for 2015 – 7 patients out of 104 died because of a hip fracture. This statistical risk-adjusted rate of 67.08 per 1000 patients is nearly three times higher than the Illinois average of 24.98 per 1000.


• Heart Attack Deaths Risk-Adjusted Mortality Rate for 2015 – 6 out of 135 patients died of heart attacks at the facility. This risk-adjusted rate of 44.24 per 1000 patients is significantly higher than the Illinois average of 37.24 per 1000.


• Stroke-Associated Risk-Adjusted Mortality Rate for 2015 – 16 out of 187 patients died of a stroke at the hospital. This risk-adjusted rate of 93.36 per 1000 patients is nearly 1.5 times higher than the Illinois average of 61.56 per 1000 patients.

Sample Medical Malpractice Claims Involving Stroger Hospital

$8,500,000 Settlement; Illinois Wrongful Death Case

In this hospital cause of action, a woman in her late thirties went to Stroger Hospital. She was pregnant and in need of medical attention. Eventually, she went into labor. During the course of this event, things did not go well. She started to lose a lot of blood. Also, her heart rate started to rise as her blood pressure started to fall. Despite all of these negative symptoms, doctors proceeded as if everything was fine. The baby was born but things escalated for the mother after that. She was given a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, that could not save her. She passed away due to the injuries she sustained in the delivery. Her husband and children survived her. She had three kids. They brought an action against the hospitals involved in the ordeal. They claimed the defendants were negligent and responsible for her wrongful death. They cited the parties’ failure to diagnose and treat the woman for her ongoing blood loss as Exhibit A of their malpractice. The family sought compensation for their extraordinary damages including pain and suffering. In a private settlement; they obtained an $8.5 million package from the two hospitals involved.

$3,000,000 Settlement; Illinois Child Injury Case

The patient at the heart of this hospital controversy was just seven months old. She was being treated at Stroger Hospital. The little girl was not feeding as she should and was also showing signs of a fever. To account for this, staff wanted to put a G-Tube down her throat. They believed that this would help with the feedings when she went home. It also involved the use of anesthesia, so nurses had to prep the child for that. When they were doing that, the little girl began to lose oxygen. Unfortunately, nobody noticed this, and she suffered a major brain injury due to the misplaced breathing tube. The effects of this incident were so severe that she died just a few weeks later. This claim was brought as a direct result of these developments. It sought damages from the parties involved including the people and facilities. The complaint stated that their errors constituted malpractice and that should make them liable for the death of the little girl. The parties did not see this matter decided by a jury. Instead, they settled for a reported $3 million.

$3,000,000 Settlement; Illinois Hospital Malpractice Case

The family of a little girl brought this case against an Illinois hospital (Stroger Jr. Hospital). She was born at just thirty-one weeks. At the time of her birth, doctors determined that she had necrotizing enterocolitis. They later discovered that she had a related but treatable infection. Staff put a PICC line into her arm so that she could receive antibiotics. However, they failed to refer her to or obtain a consultation from an infectious disease specialist. Furthermore, they did not do this even though her white blood cell count was getting higher and higher. Subsequently, bacteria seeped into the catheter she was using and defeated the purpose of the medication she was put on. Thus, they were not able to get rid of her original infection. She developed sepsis and passed away from organ failure. She was a little over one month old at the time of her passing. This claim was brought by her family for malpractice and wrongful death. It sought compensation from the responsible parties for their damages including the little girl’s pain, their grief, and similar harms. In a private agreement, they decided to settle the matter for a reported $3 million.

Chicago, Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawyers

If you suffered serious harm while you were a patient at John H Stroger Jr. Hospital, your injuries might have been caused by medical negligence. The Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC provide legal assistance to patients who have suffered injuries by mistakes and errors in all medical settings.

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 out of court settlement. All information your family shares with our law office remains confidential.

Sources:

• John H Stroger Jr Hospital of Cook County
• Website