Every one is going to get sick. Hopefully, not sick enough to be hospitalized. But, we all need hospitals for our family or friends at different times in our lives. The "Dead By Mistake" series of articles from the Hearst newspapers is an important piece of journalism that everyone should read and know about.
10 years ago, a national study looked at the number of deaths and adverse incidents in America’s hospitals, and the totals were shocking. Reporting agencies were set up to track the problems an help to prevent them. Since that time:
- States hospitals are not making the reports
- The number of hospital deaths have grown
- The number of people who have hospital-acquired infections has grown.
- The individual stories are tragedies.
The numbers of deaths and injuries are startling. This series , in combination with the previous report of increase incidents in Minnesota, should cause concern for everyone. It is also troubling to think of all the past events that have gone by unreported. How many people were killed or severely injured and nothing was said? Hopefully, the the warning of ten years ago will now be heard.
