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Jan. 29, 2011

Decades after airline crash, lessons learned applied in operating room

Steve Wilkinson, left, a retired pilot, and Dr. Steve Montoya formed a company that trains medical staffs to work together.

United Airlines Flight 173 was approaching Portland, Ore., when the pilot realized something was wrong with the landing gear.

Jan. 10, 2011

Patients first: Experts look at hospitals that emphasize safety

Patients first: Experts look at hospitals that emphasize safety

After spending six months documenting the injuries, infections and surgical mishaps suffered by patients in Las Vegas hospitals, the Sun turned its focus to possible solutions.

Dec. 26, 2010

We must adopt a culture of sincere care

When this newspaper set out in 2008 to examine the quality of health care in the Las Vegas Valley, we knew, of course, that lives are saved and medical miracles occur at our hospitals.

Local hospitals’ willingness to change culture would be a step toward better care, transparency

Don Carlson looks at memorabilia from his biking days, before a hospital-acquired infection after surgery to remove a tumor cost him his security guard job.

It’s too late to protect Don Carlson, who was almost killed by a deadly infection he contracted in a Las Vegas hospital. The lengthy recovery cost him his security guard job, and now he’s in bankruptcy.

How to put patients first

Dr. Tim McDonald, a pioneer in the patient safety movement, is co-executive director of the Institute for Patient Safety Excellence at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. "Somebody has to step up and say 'We're going to do this,'" he says. "It's the smart thing to do and also happens to be the right thing to do."

Dr. Tim McDonald is standing by the operating room nurses’ station, explaining how a medical error sent a patient into cardiac arrest. He’s holding two similar medicine vials, each about the size of a thimble, with black print on white-and-lavender labels.

'You can't kill my mother and get away with it'

This is an insurgency no one wanted to join. The patient safety advocates who gathered last month for their annual strategy session were drafted by tragedy — a botched surgery, a preventable infection or some other hospital incident that launched them into battle to protect others from suffering harm when they seek healing.

Sun investigation reveals flaws in hospital care; solutions offered

Because the series has confronted the hospital system, regulators and elected officials with evidence of the need for change, the Sun will continue to focus next year on health care and patient safety.

Nov. 28, 2010

Influential voices weigh in on Las Vegas hospital care

Three influential voices on health care in the valley give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to statements posed by the Las Vegas Sun in the wake of the "Do No Harm" investigative series.

An investigation by the Sun has identified thousands of cases of patients having suffered preventable harm in Las Vegas hospitals. The Sun sat down with three people who have something to say about hospital care.

Nov. 18, 2010

MRSA affects whole family

Healthcare consumers Pam and David Spendlove speak during a panel discussion named " The Many Sides of MRSA" during a MRSA Conference sponsored by the Nevada State Health Division at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel Tuesday, November 16, 2010. David became infected with MRSA after heart surgery at Valley Hospital this year.

Just months after David Spendlove contracted a deadly bacteria in a hospital, he and his wife found themselves this week telling their story to a captivated audience of 200 nurses and administrators from hospitals and nursing homes. The couple’s message: Don’t deceive your patients if something has gone wrong. Don’t minimize what’s happening. Don’t lie.

Nov. 17, 2010

Study: Patients suffering harm in hospitals a national problem

An ongoing Las Vegas Sun investigation paints a bleak portrait of hospital care in Southern Nevada. But according to a federal government study released Tuesday, the situation may be much worse.

Nov. 14, 2010

Overview of the Sun’s series on health care

The Las Vegas Sun has spent more than two years examining hospital care in Las Vegas, mining a treasure trove of data that until now had never been publicly analyzed — 2.9 million hospital billing records on file with the state.

Why we suffer

Nearly two years ago, Sern Englestead of Henderson had heart surgery at Sunrise Hospital Medical Center. Although the surgery was successful, he developed a bedsore the size of a grapefruit on his buttocks while recovering. He was forced to move to an assisted-care facility, where nurses regularly tend to the wound.

Mediocre hospital care in the Las Vegas Valley, evidenced by thousands of preventable injuries, infections and deaths, can be traced to a few fundamental causes.

Hospitals should examine what ails them, seek cure

When someone is very sick, he goes to the doctor with a list of ailments and asks, “What’s wrong? Can you give me something to get better? What can I do?”

How to file a complaint

To file a complaint about:

Why Nevada's nurses quit

Newly hired nurses in Nevada used terms like “dangerous” and “unsafe” to describe the conditions in hospitals in a 2005 UNLV study.

Where I Stand

Fascination and frustration in reporting on Las Vegas hospital care

The assignment Sun reporter Marshall Allen was given two years ago was just one sentence, but would prove to be the most ambitious of his career: Find out what’s right, and wrong, about our local health care delivery system.

Interactive Features

Harmful events glossary

The data showed eight categories of harm including bedsores, infections, bone breaks and foreign objects accidentally retained after surgery.

Documents

See the source material behind the stories: legal filings, academic research, minutes from legislative hearings and internal e-mails.

Your stories

Have you or someone you know been harmed in a Las Vegas hospital? Make your voice heard.

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