Othello hospital makes changes

New measures in place after death of Elizabeth Wolf

OTHELLO - Othello Community Hospital made two policy changes following the death of resident Elizabeth Wolf in February.

Wolf, a resident of Othello since 1967, died Feb. 17 at 86 years old.

Daughter Alice Stredwick of Pasco believes the hospital should have kept her mom in the hospital following a visit Feb. 13 and should have contacted her as Wolf's emergency contact person.

Stredwick described the day of her mother's visit to the hospital.

"I had tried calling her and she didn't answer the phone, and I thought, 'That's strange. Maybe she's in the prayer meeting,'" Stredwick recalled.

When she did reach her mom, it was at approximately 4:15 p.m., Stredwick said.

She said her mom answered in a weak voice and said her day hadn't gone well. Wolf recounted falling down at home and remaining on the floor for several hours.

She was transported by ambulance to Othello Community Hospital, where doctors X-rayed her because she complained of pain, Stredwick said.

"The doctors had told her there were no broken bones, so they were going to send her home," Stredwick said.

Wolf said she wanted to stay at the hospital, but hospital staff drove her back home in an ambulance, Stredwick claims. They sat her mother in her chair and brought her water, she said. She noted the ambulance personnel were friendly.

"She couldn't walk. She couldn't stand up, and they just left her there. That was our whole issue right there," Stredwick said.

She is not claiming Stredwick would have lived had she been admitted to the hospital, she said. Stredwick is upset with the treatment of her mom.

She also believes the hospital should have contacted her.

"They had my name there as an emergency contact," Stredwick said. "To me, that was an emergency."

The hospital claims Wolf said she did not want to bother Stredwick with a phone call, Stredwick said, but she believes her mom would not have expressed that desire.

Stredwick and her husband took Wolf to Kadlec Medical Center in Richland, where they learned she had a severe bladder infection. She was given a prescription for the infection. Wolf was supposed to see a specialist, but she wasn't able to see one.

On Feb. 15, Stredwick called 9-1-1, and Wolf was transported to the hospital and died Feb. 17.

Hospital Administrator Harry Geller said the board approved an ambulance transportation policy March 12, as a result of Wolf's situation. Geller said if a patient does not want the hospital to contact a family member, neighbor or friend, but still needs assistance, then the hospital must insist the patient provide a name, Geller said.

"(The hospital will say) you're going to have to give us a name. Somebody should be at home to watch you," Geller said.

The patient will ideally make arrangements for someone to take them home, as ambulances are for emergency situations.

"In this case, it wasn't deemed medically necessary," Geller said.

If no one can pick the patient up, then the patient can receive transportation from an ambulance, but someone should still be home with the patient, he said.

A second policy change resulting from the situation with Wolf was a revision of an existing chain of command policy.

"This just creates greater empowerment among all hospital staff members," he said.

He said any employee can be a patient advocate. If an employee is concerned about patient safety, they can contact the doctor and nurse attending to a patient. If the employee still has concerns, they can contact the charge nurse.

"The charge nurse can then intervene and meet with the attending nurse, and the attending physician," Geller said.

Members of senior leadership - Geller, chief financial officer, chief nursing officer, corporate compliance officer and HR director can also be contacted.

A member of senior leadership is typically on call at all times, he said.

"(The policy is) something we'd already communicated, but maybe not done as good of a job as we should have," Geller said.

Stredwick said she has not seen the policy changes, but she believes the hospital is on the right track.

"That's great," she said. "I think something needs to be done."