Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Everyone is so quick to blame the hospitals and physicians when a tragedy like this happens. Get more equipment, get more nurses, cut down waiting times, etc. Accident rooms are overcrowded now because everyone is using them as their primary care provider, showing up with minor symptoms that could be handled with a call to their family physician ( ex: H1N1 ). Hospitals are in financial crisis now, which is very evident if you read the paper. Unions are killing the hospitals, and thrid party reimbursement to totally inadequate to cover expenses. Where do you expect the hospital to get MORE equipment, MORE nurses, MORE anything, they cannot even afford what they have now. How about the amount of indigent care that hospitals are providing to the uninsured and the illegals, it's in the millions. I've worked in the hospital field for over 50 years, and let me assure you that no one that works in the healthcare field wants to see anyone harmed by the care they receive in our facilities. If Mr.Woods would direct his attention to helping to correct the situation ( maybe purchase several monitors for Kent ) instead of trying to cast blame on dedicated healthcare workers maybe this unfortunate situation could have some positive outcome

I HAVE HEARD HORROR STORIES ABOUT KENT SINCE I WAS YOUNG, ALL THE POWER TO YOU MR. WOODS.

This was not a question of more, it was a systemic issue of lack of communication and accountability for the patient. It was both the nurse and the physicians responsibility to notify each other of the lack of monitoring. If they could not do it, they should have done an interhospital transfer to another facility that could. And Kent is pushing for everyone in the state to go to their cath lab? Ridiculous! If they can't handle the load in the ER, triage and divert!

With any luck, the hospital will learn a valuable lesson from this. This is the type of treatment I've always gotten in their emergency room. I can't understand the attitude of the emergency room staff. Maybe they are too short-staffed and without the equipment they need, but they'd better look at the big picture, that is, improving the hospital's reputation. When my brother was there recently, several people came to him with the exact same questions (important ones, too) as if there is no communication at all among staff members. And often, it was impossible to find someone to ask a question to. Once, I was met with some hostility when I noticed he seemed quite dehydrated and asked for help on his behalf.
I wrote before of a time when I was there with my daughter all evening and they admitted they had forgotten about us completely. We just went home after a long night of waiting.

MD...Are you kidding me?? I worked for one week ten years ago with a broken wrist because a Kent County emergency room physician said it was not broken and sent me home....I could plainly see the fracture on an exray an orthopedist took later on. I let the matter go. Should I have instead bought new glasses for the emergency room physicians or new xray equipment so they could read the xrays????

This is not surprising to me at all, I had almost the same incident with this emergency room a month ago. Different symptoms but same negligent care! I hope this will finally bring the problem that needs to be addressed.

Isn't this the same hospital that advertises on tv that it is a gret hospital for stroke victime?

profit profit profit

the unions cut into the profit so unions are bad bad bad!!!
ya right, your kids go to school,not to work with you? thank a union. u have weekends off? thank a union. have 40 hr week? thank a union
work ot get time & 1/2 thank a union!!!
see your hours cut and pay cut? join the union!!! there is power in numbers.

less staff seeing more people equals more profit!!!

has nothing to do with staffing issues it has to do with payroll and over head issues.

the er is a profit center not a trearment center, and until it is a treatment center again not a profit center it will contuine to be this way.

go Jimmy go we miss Mike the light needs to be shined at this black hole.

to respond to the person sugesting that james woods buy equipment for the hospital instead of standing up for his late brother is totally ridiculous. it`s up to the state to keep our hospitals staffed and equiped to take care of our paying taxes citizens. how would this person feel if it had happen to him/her?
how can we makes excuses like this when it comes down to human life.he was a father ,husband, brother,son etc. that is not with his family due to the neglect he received at the hands of kent hospital
power to you mr. woods

Financial Crisis, really, you need to check your sources again. Both CNE and Lifespan are passing out bonus to all employees. I should know I work there. There is no issue with money. This is all about greed, we need to have all of the CEO, COO, CFO, with there big million dollar pay checks. Patient care is no were on the list of concern, it is all about money. Call Lifespan ask them if the employees are not getting bonus, They just had another mixed up surgery. CNE, will be annoucing there bonuses. Money, that is the healthcare concern.

I have heard AND WITNESSED (in 1990!) horror stories at Ken butcher shop. I have long ago instructed my loved ones to leave me on the curb before ever letting me through those doors into that incompetent house of horrors! Seriously, Kent has long standing issues. More power to Woods family!

back in 1982 the treated my father like a pig to slaughter.

Mr. Wood is bringing valuable information to the residents of RI with this lawsuit. Within the health professional grapevine - it is known where "less than adequate" care is provided and those in the health care field avoid these facilities.
The average citizen is not privy to this information. The two doctors that testified for the Wood family are totally correct in pointing out that serious lack of Standards of Care were totally apparent in this case. It will be interesting to see if the outcome of this trial changes behaviors and care of patients in the future.

OH BOO FRIKIN HOO! IN LIFE AND IN ANY OTHER BUSINESS THE BOSS MAKES SURE THAT ORDERS ARE FOLLOWED OR YOUR OUT OF A JOB,"RIGHT"? I REST MY CASE,KENT SCREWED UP BIG TIME. GOOD LUCK JIMMY BOY!

Kent has had a bad reputation for many years. The mantra is 'Don't bring me to Kent' The doctors and nurses do the best they can but there is something wrong and I commend James Woods for shining light on it.

As someone who has had several family members experience what I could consider negligent care at Kent County Hospital, I am grateful that Mr. Woods is suing the hospital. I remember hearing about his late brother, Michael's death at the hospital, and wondering if he'd gotten the attention he needed. My late father in law was given only glancing care after being admitted to it's emergency room, with what we were concerned was a heart attack, treated dismissively and then released. He suffered a massive heart attack a few week's later, thankfully he was brought to RI Hospital instead on that occasion.

Kent is a substandard facility, it's about time the hospital was subjected to close and careful scrutiny.

Its about time light has been put on that ER. Hardly any one is board certified, Or emergency medicine certified. I think that will change. A good I know in my heart, good changes will come from this. And how about this, Suppose you have to go there in middle of night with chest pains, dont you want a cath lab, board certified people, a cardiologist on premise, enough heart monitors, and most important, a doctor with a ER certificate, I have learned from this trial that ER medicine is different in a lot of ways from regular practice. putting your most life threatening symptoms first, all in a matter of minutes. And doctors having the training and capacity to handle 15 rooms and a hallway all at once. I hope kent makes the changes in case any of us ends up there GOD Bless