Anderson

        A Milford family's recent complaint about poor housekeeping and questionable infection control at Christ Hospital has stirred a chorus of similar complaints from other families.

        On April 6, the Enquirer published an article about a complaint letter sent March 21 to state and federal health regulators by Milford resident Karen Ashcraft.

        Mrs. Ashcraft alleged that her 86-year-old mother, Mary Anderson, developed a near-lethal staph infection after bypass surgery in March 2000. She spent two months in the hospital and another month at Drake Center.

        “All through her stay the family observed filthy conditions, poor hygiene and a lack of consistent rules regarding infectious disease,” Ms. Ashcraft wrote.

        Officials with the federal Health Care Financing Administration and the Ohio Department of Health have begun an investigation of the complaint. However, they could not discuss details.

        Meanwhile, Mrs. Ashcraft's observations drew swift, mostly sympathetic comments from Enquirer readers.

WHERE TO COMPLAIN

People who have complaints about the quality of hospital care have several options:   • They can tell doctors or nurses or contact hospital patient service departments.   • They can hire a lawyer.   • They can complain to regulators.   The Ohio Department of Health offers a consumer complaint hot line: (800) 342-0553. Letters can be sent to the Ohio Department of Health, Division of Quality Assurance, Complaint Section, P.O. Box 118, Columbus, OH 43216-0118.   In Kentucky, hospital complaints can be sent to the Kentucky Office of the Inspector General, CHR Building, 275 E. Main St., Mail Stop 5E-A, Frankfort, KY 40601. The department does not run a hot line.   In Indiana, hospital complaint letters can be sent to the Indiana State Department of Health, Division of Long Term Care, 2 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46204. The department also offers a consumer hot line: (800) 246-8909.

        Loveland resident Angela McPartland said her husband stayed at Christ Hospital for five days in October 1999 after surgery performed on his neck.

        “I was appalled ... at what I saw,” Mrs. McPartland said. “They didn't empty garbage cans. He was on the same bloody sheets for three days and nobody washed him off. I truly believe my husband would have died if I didn't stay there 18 hours a day.”

        Arlene Klein, of Blue Ash, said she stayed at Christ Hospital for two days in January to have her thyroid removed. She called the newspaper after seeing the story about Mrs. Anderson.

        “It's not in that lady's mind because the same thing happened to me,” Mrs. Klein said. “I had a private room but it was filthy. The bathroom floor was sticky and the garbage cans were overflowing with papers and junk.

        “One nurse even got mad at me because I wouldn't take a Tums out of her hand. She wasn't wearing any gloves. I didn't see her wash her hands. So I told her I wanted a package of Tums so I could take them out myself,” Mrs. Klein said. “She told me she'd have to go all the way to the (hospital) pharmacy to get them and they'd have to put it on the bill. I told her to go ahead.”

        Not all the comments about Christ Hospital have been critical.

        Rev. Richard Fisher, pastor emeritus at the Clifton Avenue Church of the Nazarene, called the paper because several members of his congregation expressed concern when they found out he needed to visit Christ Hospital for an chronic illness.

        “I have been in and out of the hospital multiple times and I have stayed on multiple floors. I think housekeeping has done an excellent job. The nurses I see are dedicated, devoted and working extra hard,” he said.

        Rev. Fisher said he is concerned that negative publicity about the hospital will make people shy away from seeking treatment for serious medical problems.

        “Isolated incidents can happen anywhere. But as a whole, I don't think there's any clear signs that cutbacks at the hospital have affected the quality of care.”

        Dr. Bruce Hamilton, one of several doctors who provided care to Mrs. Anderson, wrote a letter to the Enquirer disputing Mrs. Ashcraft's allegations.

        “I believe that most of the conclusions detailed in the letter ... are erroneous,” Dr. Hamilton wrote. However, “I don't think that I can discuss her case in sufficient detail ... without first receiving a release from the patient or her power of attorney.”

        A release form was sent to Mrs. Ashcraft, but a response had not been sent as of late last week.

        Mrs. Ashcraft said she has received phone calls from several people who also have complaints about care they received.

        “I think a lot of people are afraid to complain. A lot of people don't know where to write, don't know how to ask for their medical records or any of that,” Mrs. Ashcraft said.

        Deanna Herring, of Hamilton, said her father died at Christ Hospital Feb. 26 after developing multiple infections following a bypass surgery and heart valve replacement operation.

        Like Mrs. Anderson's family, she didn't feel safe leaving her father in the hospital without hiring a sitter.

        “He pulled his IV out twice. But all they would say is "Don't worry, we'll check on him every so often,” Mrs. Herring said.

        Gladys Plant, of Finneytown,said her husband died in March 2000 at Christ Hospital about a month after developing a staph infection that occurred following a surgery.

        “The room was not clean. There was tape and scissors and stuff laying around. One day a nurse put me out so they could bathe him. I don't know what happened, but from that day on, my husband never made it. We'd been married 38 years.”

        Carole Vulhop, of Westwood, , said she had abdominal surgery at Christ Hospital in March 2000, but had to return for more surgery two weeks later because an infection had developed. In all, she stayed about two weeks in the hospital.

        “In my case, infection control was very lax. I had a suture break open and liquid was squirting out. It got all over towels and sheets and they'd just throw it all into a chair,” Mrs. Vulhop said. “A lot of people didn't use gloves or anything. Sometimes they'd mop. Sometimes they wouldn't. I never filed a complaint, though. I was just glad to get out of there and get healthy.”

        Ruth Webb, of Hamilton, said her husband had a triple bypass operation in November and ended up spending three weeks in Christ Hospital because of various complications. During that time, Mrs. Webb had several complaints about the care her husband received.

        “It was terrible. They didn't bathe him. They didn't shave him. They never emptied the garbage cans. We had to tie up the bags and put them in the hallway ourselves,” Mrs. Webb said.

        The worst situation was when her husband was standing up and had a bowel movement. While the staff did help clean up Mr. Webb, they didn't clean up some waste that fell on the floor.

        “We waited so long the stuff dried up. I finally got tired of stepping over it and cleaned it up myself,” Mrs. Webb said. “You shouldn't have to do that in a hospital.”

        Christ Hospital officials have not commented on the details of the Mrs. Ashcraft's complaint. But they have started their own investigation and managers have distributed an internal memo from Dick Seim, hospital vice president.

        “A number of our associates who recall this patient have already expressed disappointment that the attention and care provided this patient were so misrepresented by the news article,” Mr. Seim wrote. “I know that your attention to our policies and procedures and service have contributed to our good infection rates and our excellent reputation in the community.”

        Christ Hospital has enjoyed a reputation for years as one of Cincinnati's best hospitals.

        Last year, Christ Hospitalwas named one of America's top 100 hospitals by the consulting company HCIA-Sachs. The same firm rated the hospital's heart services among the top 100 nationwide for the past three years.

        A consumer telephone survey done by National Research Corp. has rated Christ Hospital as Greater Cincinnati's most preferred hospital for five straight years, Ms. Myers said.

        The hospital also conducts quarterly reviews of mailed-in patient surveys. The most recent figures from the quarter ended Dec. 31 included an overall satisfaction score of 81.7 out of a possible 100. Room cleanliness was rated 75.9.

        “Most of our patients rate us very highly. But we know we are not perfect,” Ms. Myers said. “We take all comments we receive very seriously. We would be glad to discuss the details of the patients' concerns if they would call us.”

        The Christ Hospital's patient satisfaction number is 585-1200.

        “Unfortunately in situations like this, it's not something where we can go back and fix it, because whatever happened has happened,” Ms. Myers said. “It's something we can only address for the future.”

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