A Garrard County woman is raising questions over what she found when she pulled back the cover of her mother’s Lexington hospital bed recently.
Carol Plummer’s mother, 87-year-old Barbara Switzer, had to have her right leg amputated on Easter Sunday. Then early this month, Switzer was back in the hospital at Saint Joseph Main in Lexington.
Plummer said Switzer’s first hospital bed lacked padding and had a big dip in the middle, so she asked for a new one.
Switzer was given a second bed, and when hospital staff got busy Plummer decided to change the sheets herself. When she did, she said she noticed other problems and removed the blue mattress cover to take a closer look.
Plummer videoed what she found – a mattress that appeared to be damaged and had a large, dark stain.
“I believe it's blood and maybe urine,” Plummer told LEX 18 earlier this month of the stain. “No telling what it is. And I said, ‘who is responsible for these beds, why are these beds not inspected?’ I was told they were outsourced, then I was told, ‘no it was somebody,’ but then they couldn't reach anybody to give me any answers to why that bed was like that.”
CHI Saint Joseph Health told LEX 18 in a statement that mattresses in their facilities are “routinely” evaluated and there are processes in place to remove any that have been compromised.
Plummer questioned that explanation, asking how two damaged beds would end up going to the same person if the beds are checked regularly.
Switzer went home after the situation with the beds, but ended up with a 102.9-degree fever and went to another Lexington hospital, Plummer said. Switzer has since gone back home and is getting stronger by the day, Plummer said.
LEX 18’s Leigh Searcy went to Garrard County Tuesday to catch up with Plummer and Switzer.
They said they wanted to speak out about their experience to help patients who may not have anyone to advocate for them.
“I would feel bad for anybody who had to go through all that who didn't have anybody with them,” Switzer said. “God is good and granted me a daughter who stood right there, or I don't know how long I'd have been laying in the hospital.”
While Plummer stayed at Switzer’s side, Plummer said she noticed a number of other elderly people on the same floor at the hospital who didn’t have visits from family members.
“People go to the hospital, you put your trust in that hospital,” Plummer said. “You know, when you take a person in there and you hand ‘em over, they’re in charge, they take care of that person.”
Ultimately, the two hope that their experience leads to more checks on hospital beds in the future.
“We don't wish Saint Joseph any harm or nothing,” Switzer said. “But there does need something to be checked more, more than what they're doing.”
CHI Saint Joseph Health released the following statement:
“The safety of our patients is our top priority. We routinely evaluate the integrity of the mattresses within our facilities and have processes in place to immediately remove any that may be compromised, and we proactively replace them following the manufacturer’s recommendations. We strive to always make sure our patients receive comfortable, safe and quality care, and have an avenue to express concerns about their care and immediately respond to any patient and family concerns. Out of respect for patient privacy laws, we are unable to discuss the specifics related to a particular patient.”
LEX 18 also reached out to The Joint Commission, an accrediting organization that sets national standards for healthcare safety, to learn more about guidelines for how often hospital beds and mattresses should be inspected, and we’re waiting to hear back.
