Ashley Shelley

Review of Primary Children's Medical Cen...

I am so angry and disappointed with Primary Childr...

I am so angry and disappointed with Primary Children's Hospital. My baby had to have a PICC line and TPN. They had to change the IV dressing two times in a 24 hour period because it kept unsticking. The PICC line got infected with Klebsiella. This is most likely a result of not following strict protocol when addressing central lines. I have observed over the past year of several hospitalizations with my child that nursing care is inconsistent and communication among nurses, residents and doctors is ineffective. With each visit, I have always felt like I have to speak loudly to get anyone to listen. The hospital has these giant posters posted throughout the building about zero harm and it's laughable and hypocritical. I have researched PICC line infections to discover that the majority of cases are preventable and some hospitals have even achieved zero infection rate by following very strict protocol with central lines. I do not believe a strict protocol was followed with my son. He had been struggling with diarrhea and diapers were always changed in his bed. when the nurses came in to change the PICC line dressing, both times the bedding was never changed. In fact, my baby was always laying on a chuck and they didn't bother even changing the chuck before beginning the process. I only thought about this in hindsight and would've spoken up if I had realized at the time. I would expect stricter policies on that. Also, in my research, I learned how serious these central line infections can be. My son could have died! On a positive note, if it hadn't been for the nurse, Lisa Nelson, being concerned with an elevated heart rate and diligently reported it to the doctors, it would not have been caught so early. I am grateful for her concern and care. She should receive huge praise and should be considered for a huge raise! In conclusion, if I could have another choice in my son's medical care, I would not choose Primary Children's Hospital but we are required to complete all of his procedures there due to his cardiac condition. I hope you take this as a lesson to really reevaluate your policies and procedures. I would love to see Primary Children's Hospital as a premier facility for pediatric care but currently that is far from what I have experienced. Thanks again, Lisa for saving my sweet baby's life! As for the hospital, you can keep your zero harm posters.Two stars for the handful of nurses, doctors, and staff who cared and zero stars for the hospital in general. Please, please fix this and get better food and accommodations (comfortable chairs for long hospital stays) for overly worried parents for heaven's sake!