Hartford Hospital Still on Probation

The Courant reports that "Hartford Hospital, which was placed on a one-year probation last February, remains on probation, and a state official said a new end date has not been determined. Earlier this year, state regulators identified a number of new health care violations at the hospital. Some of the newly reported violations occurred before the hospital implemented policy changes or staff training programs to address problems that gave rise to the initial probation." Other problems s occurred more recently, such as the January 2009 incident in which "a 13-inch medical instrument was left inside a patient after surgery. The patient returned to the hospital two days after being sent home, complaining of sharp abdominal and back pain, and had to have another surgery to remove the instrument." Read more.