Colorado Activity (43 items)
Patty Skolnik, Founder of Citizens for Patient Safety, makes CNN's "Intriguing people" feature. Patty was a speaker on CU's consumer panel on medical harm at our "To Err Is Human, To Delay Is Deadly" forum in DC. She is a lead advocate in Colorado and nationally on patient safety and doctor accountability issues.
Medically Injured Trauma Support Services (MITSS) honors Patty Skolnik for her work on patients safety through the organization she founded- Colorado Citizens for Accountability.
Federal officials Thursday warned that about 5,700 surgery patients, including 1,000 at a Colorado Springs surgery center, are at risk of having been infected by an operating room technician with hepatitis C.
Colorado news clip on the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act, a law which went into effect on May 31. The law required a website with information about a doctor’s medical license, criminal background and malpractice settlements, and disciplinary actions against that doctor in any of the 50 states.
An online database on every doctor in Colorado went live Sunday on the homepage of the Department of Regulatory Agencies, www.dora.state.co.us, writes Durango Herald News. The database includes information about doctors' education, malpractice lawsuits, criminal record and disciplinary actions, such as a loss of hospital privileges or drug-prescribing privileges. The state assembled the database after a 2007 law known as the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act. This bill requires the Board of Medical Examiners post important information on their website about all physicians in Colorado.
An online database on every doctor in Colorado went live Sunday on the homepage of the Department of Regulatory Agencies, www.dora.state.co.us. The database includes information about doctors' education, malpractice lawsuits, criminal record and disciplinary actions, such as a loss of hospital privileges or drug-prescribing privileges.
On May 31, all Colorado physicians must be in compliance with a recent state law, the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act, which requires them to publicly report certain business dealings, malpractice actions, disciplinary matters and crimes to practice medicine here.
On May 31, all Colorado physicians must be in compliance with a recent state law, the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act, that requires them to publicly report certain business dealings, malpractice actions, disciplinary matters and crimes in order to practice medicine here.
When Colorado passed a law requiring hospitals to publicly reveal their infection rates, lawmakers hoped it would push them to improve surgical hygiene. It seems that it's working. View report from the CO Department of Public Health and Environment.
Michael Skolnik died from poor medical care when he was rushed into unwarrented brain surgery that resulted in complete disability and death. His family did not know the surgeon had medical malpractice claims against him. This information must now be reported under the new Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment today released the first Health Facility Acquired Infections Bulletin.
A proposed bill in Colorado would require 200 hospitals in the state to report and make public the rate of hospital-acquired infections.
The Colorado House Health and Human Services Committee held a hearing on January 23 which included testimony on HB 1045, the hospital infection reporting bill. The Committee voted 12-1 to move the bill to the Appropriations Committee.
Our Mission at Citizens for Patient Safety is to educate ourselves and future generations to take action to protect our health and safety from medical errors. Read Michael Skolnik's Story
http://www.citizensforpatientsafety.org/index.htm
Select your state from an interactive map to find out what physician background reporting is available in your state. Knowing the background information on your doctor could your life.
http://www.patientsrighttoknow.org/
Individuals, families, professionals and business owners who believe we must educate ourselves and future generations to take action to protect our health & safety.
http://www.coloradocitizensforaccountability.org/Keep up with what is happening regarding Patient Safety in Colorado
http://www.coloradocitizensforaccountability.orgKeep up with what is happening regarding Physician Discolsure throught Medical Boards
http://www.PatientsRightToKnow.orgMy oldest daughter has APS - Antiphospholipid Antidoby Syndrome; the doctors, nurses and all staff knew it (at Denver Health, Denver CO); her allergies were marked in Flourescent Orange on front of her file. Yet nurses gave her medications she was allergic too; my daughter was on pain medication and half-asleep when it was done; she asked immediately what they'd given her; they told her; then the nurse went running basically out of the room to get other medication to counteract what she'd just given the shot of. This went on during the entire stay there at Denver Health. They were supposed to give her a blood transfusion; they went back and forth - yes, they were; no, they weren't. She ended up flying back to Chicago where the Dr there gave her a blood transfusion. They could have killed her several times with their nonchalant actions, not paying attention to her allergies - writen all over the file, on her arm band, etc. After this, we were all told to never go to a "teaching hospital". My daughter talked with the Client Advocate; she also talked to one of the doctor's treating her; he was more interested in covering it up, and giving a little schpeel about how great he was; and talked as if he was talking to a class - not an individual patient with her mother present in the room. He was very absorbed in himself and not at all concerned about what had happend. This was all so shocking. Needless to say, we've passed the word to other family and friends and hopefully none of them ever end up at that hospital. Teaching hospital or not, what happened was inexcusable and inappropriate. You may contact my daughter and she can fillyou in with all the detailed information. Write me and I will forward it to her so she can answer. Thank you for giving the public a chance!
I went to the University Of Colorado Hospital to have my dystonia batteries changed. It took about an hour and I went home. Everything went well, but the bill was $75,189.28 not including the doctor or the Anesthesiologist. I'm 75 so Medicare and my ins payed all but $822'24, but that price, it should of been less than half of that. I'm sure they can't just charge anything they want. And need to find out who I can talk to about this bill.
After not being able to keep any fluids down for over 24 hours, when I finally was taken to Swedish. In order to get the more than 8 bags needed to restore my fluid balance, either I had to keep screaming, or my friend had to literally harass the nursing staff, which was not busy, for me to be looked after. Given I also have Fibromyalgia and was on Fentanyl, they would not give me the Fentanyl I needed. I also asked them to call my doctor next door, who used the hospital, to tell him I was there; they deliberately lied, saying that they had simply to keep me quiet though I discovered they had not. When I talked to the "patient liaison," she was more interested in pacifying me to avoid a law suit instead of fixing the problems of apathy and poor care.
Retired Nurse. Need better education of RN's, BSN at least.
Hi All, Just want you to know that we launched our new name last night to Citizens for Patient Safety. We had a stunning celebration and fabulous attendance. I know Michael was watching with his grin saying way to go...Please check out the new site and let me know what you think. We will keep the old site up also as it is so well know in Colorado. Moving globally with out new site. Please contact me if I can be of any help. Patty
http://www.CitizensforPatientSafety.org
More than 290,000 surgical site infections occur in U.S. hospitals each year. Patients who acquire infections from surgery spend, on average, an additional 6.5 days in the hospital, are five times more likely to be readmitted after discharge, and twice as likely to die.
Surgery patients are at risk for infection because surgical incisions create a pathway for germs to enter the body. Maintaining a sterile environment in the operating room is therefore critical to protect patients from being contaminated with bacteria, which can lead to infection.
How well is your hospital, state and the nation as a whole are performing on three key practices that help prevent infections during surgery? Find out here »
After Michael Skolnik passed out in September 2001, his neurosurgeon told his parents that Michael needed to have brain surgery within two days. The three hour operation lasted six hours with no cyst ever being found. This marked the beginning of a 32-month nightmare of brain surgeries, infections, and more than $4,000,000 in medical bills.
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I had what was supposed to be a minor surgery August 13, 2002. I was sick for the next 2 weeks. I had emergency surgery on my abdomen on August 27, 2002. I was in the hospital from August 13 till the third week of September.
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In 2001, Patty and David Skolnik spent nearly three years watching their only child, Michael, play victim to a broken system as a result of unnecessary brain surgery. Due to medical error caused by negligence and incompetence, routine expectations of our healthcare system proved ineffective in providing quality medical care and patient safety for 22 year old Michael Skolnik.
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Susan Zalatan shared her husband Tony’s hospital infection story with the Stop Hospital Infection Campaign and later both became dedicated advocates for a public disclosure law in Colorado. After contracting a staph infection at a Denver-area hospital, Tony spent 54 days in a coma and doctors amputated his left leg, right foot and five fingertips. Although the couple was physically, emotionally and financially impacted by the infection, they made a commitment to advocate for a disclosure law so that other people would be less likely to get a hospital infection... Read More »
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