Patient safety issues are at the heart of a lawsuit filed against Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center by an emergency department nurse supervisor who was fired.
In his whistleblower lawsuit, Christopher Modic alleges he lost his job in retaliation for complaining to management about the hospital’s unwillingness to submit patient safety reports. Modic, who lost his job four months ago, was hired as a critical care nurse in July 2003 and promoted to emergency department nurse supervisor in February 2012.
Modic is demanding a jury trial in Multnomah County Circuit Court and seeking $800,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. Legacy Health had not yet filed a response by press time.
Its spokesman, Brian Terrett, told The Lund Report that “Legacy Health makes it a practice not to comment on any pending litigation out of respect for the legal process. Any comments Legacy makes will be in a courtroom before a judge. It is also important to point out that any claims made in civil litigation are simply allegations that must be proven with actual facts in a courtroom.”
The lawsuit alleges that on several occasions Modic’s supervisor Heather Moon specifically ordered the staff to not fill out safety reports, including when a physician allowed an untrained scribe to suture a patient and when a patient brought a handgun into the hospital.
Modic also claims that when a staff nurse filed a safety report for a failed procedure due to a physician’s shaky hands, Moon orally reprimanded the nurse and threatened that she would have Modic terminated for “a violation of healthcare confidentiality for discussing the matter of the doctor’s shaking hands with them.”
The complaint states that in a meeting with human resources, Modic discussed with Nurse Executive Marcia Soderling and Human Resource specialist Sue Girvan his concern about the lack of safety reports.
Modic claims that the HR personnel criticized him “for wanting to file (patient safety reports)” and “for not being supportive of management.” The complaint then describes how Modic was subsequently demoted from supervisor to charge nurse, and was “encouraged to accept the demotion in retaliation for expressing concern” over the lack of patient safety reports.
The complaint further alleges that a February 2014 snowstorm caused a high volume of patients to seek emergency care at Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center while Modic was in charge of the Emergency Department. According to the lawsuit, Modic “did not have the authority to call in more staff,” and “there was no procedure for him to call in more staff.” When Modic telephoned Moon that day, she dismissed his concerns, “refused to call in more nurses,” and commended him on “doing a good job.”
Coming forward with his allegations, Modic claims Moon falsely accused him of “intentionally fabricating a chart note” of a patient under his care while understaffed during the February snowstorm. Modic denies these accusations and alleges “he was fired in retaliation for complaining to management” about the lack of safety reports so the hospital “would not have to deal with situations documented in [the safety reports].”
Addressing the safety concerns outlined in the lawsuit, Legacy’s Terrett assured The Lund Report that “hospital-wide safety huddles are held every day on campus” and “patient safety alerts are brought up and addressed every day.”
Terrett acknowledged that for the past three years, Legacy Health has not met the minimum patient safety recognition targets established by the Oregon Patient Safety Commission, which was created by the Legislature in 2003 to “reduce the risk of adverse events in Oregon and to encourage a culture of patient safety.”
The Patient Safety Commission sets targets for what it considers the number of reported incidents from a hospital. “Saying Legacy Health didn’t meet the targets doesn’t mean patients are unsafe,” Terrett told The Lund Report. “But simply means we do not give Oregon Patient Safety Commission the number of reports they were expecting.”
According to Terrett, harmful events that the Oregon Patient Safety Commission solicits for submission “are already reported out to specific subject matter bodies … or patient safety collaboratives,” such as the Washington State Hospital Association and the Collaborative Alliance for Nursing Outcomes, which “provide benchmarking and targeted improvement guidance for matters such as falls and pressure ulcers.”
Legacy has also been nationally recognized for reducing harm and needless deaths, he added.
And, since 2008, through Legacy’s “Big Aims” work, the organization has achieved:
- 425 avoided deaths
- Mortality rate decreased by 12%, O/E ratio is 0.82
- Over 1,800 avoided infections
- Surgical Site Infection (SSIs) down 48.9%
- Ventilator Acquired Pneumonia (VAPs) nearly eliminated (91.9% improvement)
- Central line associated blood stream infection down 40.5%
- In the last year alone:
- Improved our culture of safety. Feedback and communication about errors has improved by 7%
- Reduced falls with injury by 23%
When contacted, Modic’s attorney, Colin Rockey Hackett Law PC, refused to comment about the lawsuit.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To review this lawsuit, click here.
To look at Legacy's financial performance, click here.
Jennifer can be reached at [email protected].
