Saint Margarents Health Ratings & Violations

Saint Margaret’s Health (Saint Margaret’s Hospital) is a 57-bed medical facility providing cares and services to residents of Spring Valley and Bureau County, Illinois. The not-for-profit church-related facility is located at:

600 E. First St.
Spring Valley, IL 61362
(815) 664-5311

http://www.aboutsmh.org/

The Medical Center provides various services that include:

• Critical care
• Cancer care
• Diagnostic services
• Hospice
• Child/maternal services
• Pastoral care
• Pediatric care
• Specialty clinics and primary care
• Rehabilitative services including occupational, massage, physical, speech and pulmonary therapies
• Surgical services

State Designations

Saint Margaret’s Hospital maintains one specific state designation including:

• Perinatal II – the Illinois regionalized perinatal system offer state designations the hospital’s providing an appropriate level of care to pregnant women. At specific levels, the system can reduce incidents involving perinatal complications. Successful outcomes are determined by early identification and appropriate treatment of pregnant women who are a high risk during childbearing months and after childbirth delivery. Level II hospitals provide cares and services to pregnant women and their newborn was either or both are at high risk for medical complications. While the facility does not operate a neonatal intensive care nursery, they do provide additional services in facilities facilitated by professionals who have received specialized training.

Bloodstream Infections

Facility-wide hospital-onset incident rates involving Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) could place the health and well-being of the patient in immediate jeopardy. Because of that, the state and federal governments maintain measurements and standardize infection ratios to determine if bloodstream infections involving MRSA and Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are statistically different among hospital settings throughout the state and nation.

Currently, the information collected between 01/01/2018 and 12/31/2018 for Saint Margaret’s Health Hospital involving MRSA and CDI includes:

• 0 MRSA Infection out of 6968 patient days.
• 6 CDI Infections out of 6329 patient days which is “not statistically significantly better or worse than the national average.

Patient Safety Issues

The AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality uses a Report Card Methodology and Risk Adjustment to determine indicators where hospitals might have significant adverse events after procedures and surgeries. The current patient safety issues involving Saint Margaret’s Health Hospital include:

• Accidental Laceration and Puncture Rate (2015) – 2 incidents out of 1518 patients or 1.98 per 1000 risk-adjusted rate, which is significantly higher than the 1.45 per 1000 statewide average.
• Post-Operative Hematoma or Hemorrhage Rate (2015) – 1 incident out of 443 patients or 5.4 per thousand risk-adjusted rate, which is significantly higher than the 4.46 per thousand risk-adjusted statewide rate average.
• Post-Operative Respiratory Failure Rate (2015) – 1 incident out of 337 patients or 5.59 per 1000 Risk-adjusted rate, which is significantly lower than the 8.04 per 1000 risk-adjusted rate statewide average.

Emergency Department Utilization

How busy an emergency department is in the hospital at any given time can determine the quality and care every patient receives. Higher volumes during busy times may indicate that the facility is providing a lack of primary care. Currently, Saint Margaret’s Health utilization of their emergency department for the entire year of 2015 included:

• 10,552 Patients – The total number of Emergency Department visits that year.
• 1,107 Patients – The number of inpatient Emergency Department visits that year.
• 9,445 Patients – The number of outpatient Emergency Department visits that year.

Misdiagnosed Conditions Leading to a Lawsuit

The three most common misdiagnoses include cancer, breast cancer, and undiagnosed heart attacks. Colon cancer is a misdiagnosis that happens more often than many individuals believe. The numbers of younger individuals that have been misdiagnosed with colon cancer are significant, where bowel problems are often attributed to occupation, stress or diet. A failure to diagnose colon cancer in time can lead to serious injuries, substantial medical problems or premature death.

A misdiagnosis of breast cancer, especially at an early age, can cause significant issues that require the woman to undergo surgery. Undiagnosed heart attacks are common occurrences caused by a failure to perform necessary tests. Often, the doctor will inform the patient that they are experiencing heartburn when in fact a simple diagnostic test would reveal a heart attack is occurring.

Medical malpractice cases work somewhat different than a traditional personal injury claim for compensation. Typically, the patient was harmed or injured due to a medical mistake, misdiagnosis or a failure to treat. Usually, there are numerous defendants in a medical malpractice case who might all have failed to provide necessary care or services, where their hospital negligence  directly resulted in harm to the victim.

An attorney working on behalf of the injured party will file all the necessary paperwork to begin the process and successfully resolve the case for compensation. In Bureau County, the attorney will file at:

Sample Medical Malpractice Claims Involving Saint Margaret’s

$4,100,000 Settlement; Illinois Hospital Malpractice Claim

This dispute kicked off after a mother entered St. Margaret Hospital in Spring Valley, Illinois. She was pregnant. While at the facility, she went into labor. Apparently, in the course of the birth, the baby boy developed an infection. It was Group Beta strep. However, staff, doctors and nurses, did not diagnose the emerging problem. Quite to the contrary, they told the little boy’s mother that he was fine despite him having a fever. The child was also crying more than usual. Subsequent to these events, the medical team realized that they had made a mistake the following morning, and that the newborn boy had actually contracted an infection. However, by this time, there was little that could be done. The child had cerebral palsy. This meant a lifetime of pain, disability, and added expenses. The family brought suit against the hospital. The plaintiffs argued that the facility should have better monitored the boy during delivery to spot and take care of his infection. Had they done this reasonably, his condition would not have escalated so rapidly and dramatically they offered. They blamed the immediate and long-term health effects on the defendant’s negligence which they labelled as malpractice. The defendant filed their routine reply and appearance. But this suit was destined for settlement. The plaintiffs obtained $4.1 million in compensation for their damages: suffering; lost income; short-term and long-term medical bills; handicap; lost quality and normalcy of life; etc.

$650,000 Settlement; Illinois Wrongful Death Case

Here, a woman in her late sixties (67) entered St. Margaret’s Hospital because she had abdominal pain as well as other problematic symptoms. Staff conducted an initial examination. Her doctor prescribed magnesium sulfate. However, instead of giving her forty-three milliequivalents as her treating physician ordered, staff actually injected her with forty grams. That is a lot more than the doctor ordered! This had an immediate and profound effect on the woman. Not more than a few hours after this mistake, the woman fell into cardiac arrest. She suffered a seizure as well as brain anoxia. Then, a few weeks after these events, she died. Representatives for the deceased woman brought this cause of action against the hospital. They alleged that the defendant was negligent in prescribing the woman an excessive dosage of the required medicine; failing to supervise her after the prescription; and failing to treat her properly up to her death. To account for these errors, the estate sought compensation for the damages that accrued including her pain and wrongful death, as well as expenses (almost $60,000 in medical bills). However, this case did not make it all the way through trial. In the end, the parties ended up settling for a reported $650,000.

Accident after Illinois Surgery Leads to Complications and Claim

The plaintiff in this recent medical dispute underwent surgery at Saint Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley, Illinois. An orthopedist operated on the woman. The doctor performed a total knee arthroplasty on her right leg. That operation went fine. However, the following day, as staff tried to move her from the bed to the chair, she fell down and injured herself. The incident caused her to break her right femur. This required ORIG surgery. Then, she learned that the hardware recently implanted in the arthroplasty came undone in the accident. Surgeons had to go back in and operate to fit it. Obviously, all of these events caused the woman a lot of pain and suffering as well as money for the medical bills. She filed a claim. For discovery purposes, the doctors and nurses were listed. This means that they can be required to give information and materials for the purposes of resolving her claim. Her complaint seeks damages for the economic and non-economic harms that she suffered in the accident.

Bureau County Circuit Court

700 S. Main St.
Princeton, IL 61356
(815) 872-2001
Circuit Court Clerk Dawn Reglin

Princeton, Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawyers

If you suspect that your loved one is the victim of medical malpractice caused by an error, negligence or mistake while residing at Saint Margaret’s Health, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can help. Let our knowledgeable Princeton malpractice attorneys file and successfully resolve your case for compensation.

Our law firm provides extensive case evaluations free of charge. The no-obligation appointment can provide you legal options on how to proceed with your financial recompense claim. Contact us today at (888) 424-5757. No upfront payment is required because we accept all medical malpractice claims through contingency fee agreements.

Sources:

• St Margaret's Health
• Website