Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

You may have heard that Sarasota Memorial Hospital has been charged with more than a few problems:

unlocked medicine cabinets and carts easily accessible by patients and visitors; medicine carts with prefilled, unlabeled syringes; missing records of blood transfusions during surgery; and nurses administering shots drawn by another nurse, a violation of standard practice.

But this is just one hospital. It’s inconceivable that this type of half-ass work could be widespread, huh? Nope. As a way of deflecting criticism, Sarasota Memorial Hospital chief Dr. Duncan Finlay claims that Hospitals nationwide are grappling with the issue of medical errors.

Blurted out nonsense? Consider this: SMH is ranked highly on US News BEST Hospitals of 2004. They are in the top 50 in seven different specialties, and number 21 in Heart and Heart Surgery. The 21st best hospital in Heart Surgery inserted a heart catheter in the wrong patient. The 21st best hospital in Heart Surgery killed a patient by using the wrong blood type. If this is one of the best hospitals, where does yours rank?

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