Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Lexington VA Medical Center, Cooper Division
A recent survey of intensive care unit workers at the VA hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, found that more than 60% of them would not want to be a patient in their own ward. This comes as no surprise given the poor level of care veterans have received at the hospital, where the mortality rate is noticeably higher than at other VA facilities across the country.
An assessment of Lexington’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center by the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton revealed alarming breakdowns in medical procedures. In one instance, an ER triage was performed by a desk clerk. Other problems included nurses not following doctors’ orders, and nurses possessing education and certification levels that were below national standards.
Whereas 56% of ICU nurses at veterans’ hospitals nationally have bachelor’s degrees, the rate at the Lexington medical center was only 36%. The education level for the Lexington ER was even worse—only 29% of nurses possessed a Bachelor of Science, while the national standard is 59%.
Only 8% of ICU nurses had earned certification as critical care registered nurses, while nationally the rate is 42%. Only 14% of Lexington’s ER nurses had certification, compared with 33% in the rest of the country.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Multiple Factors Cited in VA Deaths (by Jennifer Hewlett, Lexington Herald-Leader)
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