List date(s) this work was published or aired.
April 1, 2012; June 17, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Unpublished Medicare quality inspection reports showed two alarming incidents involving patients at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a safety net and teaching hospital as well as a regional trauma center in Torrance, CA. One patient died unnecessarily and another patient was left in indeterminate critical condition, according to the reports. A second story unearthed the fact that the second patient, a 54-year-old man, also died as the result of errors during a routine knee operation.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Hundreds of pages of Medicare inspection reports, coroner’s reports
Explain types of human sources used.
Extensive discussions with Medicare and hospital officials, national experts on proper operating room and hospital procedures, UCLA and county health officials, and the family of one victim and their attorney.
Results:
As a result of the Medicare inspections, Harbor-UCLA and county health officials were already taking steps to improve their processes. But the publication of these two pieces placed additional and very public pressure on them to show that they’d made progress in patient care at the hospital. And it forced those officials to explain the hospital’s situation to the public — responding to questions posed by Deborah Schoch — and not just quietly to inspectors for an unpublished report.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Go to Medicare regional offices and see if you can gain access to inspection files involving your local hospital. There’s often gold in those files.