Saint Margarets Health Medical Malpractice Lawyers

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

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.

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 01/01/2015 and 12/31/2015 for Saint Margaret’s Health Hospital involving MRSA and CDI includes:

• 1 MRSA Infection out of 6374 patient days.
• 5 CDI Infections out of 5923 patient days which is “not statistically significantly better or worse than the national average.

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 rate statewide 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.

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.

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 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:

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

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 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:

http://www.healthcarereportcard.illinois.gov/hospitals/view/101224

http://www.aboutsmh.org/