Reclaim HealthCare WNC, a healthcare coalition, held a press briefing on Friday, Feb. 28, to demand action from Mission Hospital, citing a recent “preventable” death in the hospital’s Emergency Department.
At the briefing, nurses spoke about their concerns for patients, saying that the hospital is short-staffed.
According to a press release, a group of health professionals, elected officials, clergy, attorneys, and business leaders called on Mission to make changes and provide more information about “recent deaths at the hospital.”
“Sudden death” of patient at Mission Hospital leads to investigation, employee fired
“As evidenced by a recent preventable death in the Mission Emergency Department, Mission is, once again, unsafe,” State Sen. Julie Mayfield said at the start of Friday’s press conference.
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Mission Health confirmed it terminated one employee and launched an investigation after the discovery of a dead patient in a hospital bathroom.
“A patient who should have survived lost their life not because we weren’t skilled enough, not because we didn’t try, [but] because, in my opinion, we didn’t have the staff to care for them,” said Ashley Bunting, a Mission nurse. That’s the reality of unsafe staffing. It could kill.”
In a statement, a hospital spokesperson did not provide further details about the incident and did not mention staffing as an issue.
“The sudden death of a patient is devastating, and we grieve whenever there is a loss of life. We realize there are many questions that need to be answered, and we are examining every aspect of this incident. Our investigation indicates that certain staff who had been trained did not follow hospital protocols. We have terminated one individual and have reported to the appropriate agencies. We are working diligently to address any additional issues that are identified during the course of our investigation. We appreciate our physicians, nurses and colleagues who continue to provide safe and compassionate care to all patients who come to Mission Hospital.”
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At the briefing, Sen. Mayfield said she learned additional information about deaths at Mission, including one other “preventable death” that occurred at the hospital around five weeks ago.
“HCA must increase staffing levels immediately in order to ensure an acceptable standard of care,” Mayfield said. WLOS News 13