Report: Hospital Patient Died After Being Left in Chair for 22 Hours

[TitsMcGee]

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — Investigators say a North Carolina mental patient died after nurses at a state mental hospital left him in a chair for 22 hours and failed to feed him or help him to the bathroom, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Security video showed Steven H. Sabock, 50, as he died in April after he choked on medication at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro and a nurse stood nearby without helping, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported.

The newspaper said the death was one reason federal officials said they might cut off funds for the facility. Hospital officials have about two weeks to develop an improvement plan and try to persuade federal officials to continue providing funds.

Video showed hospital staff watching television and playing cards while Sabock was in the same room. One technician hugged and kissed another staff member and appeared to be dancing.

Investigators said in a report released Monday that Sabock, who had lived in Roanoke Rapids, sat in a busy day room during four work shifts.

When technicians couldn't get him to walk to his bed, the video showed that they stood him and slid a chair under him before sliding him down the hall to his room. A few minutes later, the video showed a cart of emergency equipment being pushed down the hall.

The report said Sabock ate nothing on the day he died and had little food for three days before his death on April 29. Investigators said it appeared no one evaluated the patient's nutrition.

"The review revealed no nutritional consult was requested and revealed no evidence the physician was notified about the inadequate nutritional intake," the report said.

Sabock's father told the newspaper he wasn't allowed to see his son after he was admitted to Cherry Hospital.

"They said he was lying down and didn't feel like talking," said Nicholas Sabock, who lives in Virginia. "They wouldn't let me see him. I think he died that day."

Susan Sabock, the patient's wife, said the state sent her a letter saying there was negligence in her husband's care.

Cherry Hospital director Jack St. Clair couldn't be reached, the newspaper said.

But a state institutional administrator said last week the hospital knew about the problem before investigators arrived and was already working to correct it. Jim Osberg said he didn't know details of the hospital's response.

Federal investigators said the hospital's own investigation showed some information in Sabock's record was falsified.

Besides Sabock's case, investigators said the hospital didn't respond properly to a teenager with developmental disabilities who was punched by a doctor after he bit the physician.

This story is prime example of why I would rather die than go back to a psych ward. Depending on the area the staff is either overworked or there arn't enough people on the floor. I went in a few times as a teenager and they basically didn't give two shits about anyone, just gave us the drugs and made us sit in a room all day. It's sad that this is what the system had turned into.

[Miranda]

Damn, this is fucking harsh. No one deserves to die like that yet they do and will continue to do so. Health Care is just a business. Caring has very little to do with it. Oh, they CARE if you don't pay the bill.