April
Waldorf,#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, June 04, 2002
SMH used to be a very good hospital, unfortunately over the past couple years, it has greatly deteriorated. I had my 6 year old twins there and they were great. Yet, when I had my 18 month old, I found them their staff to be lazy and incompitent.
My 18 month old was born on December 1st, 2000. I brought him home on December 3rd. He went for his first chech up at 6 days old and started getting a very nasty rash. It actually looked like burn blisters. And they started spreading rapidly. I had no idea what was wrong with him. His doctor was very concerned because they kept popping up and sent him to Children's Hospital in DC. My husband and I had to indure hours of inbarassment with the doctors that kept coming in asking us if we had this or that, which we didn't. After awhile I was so agrevated, I demanded a better doctor. Instead they admitted him.
My son was put in an infections controlled room, no one could visit him except myself or my husband. We could only touch him if we had on protective covering. We had to walk my son indure so many tests including a spinal tap. Finally, the following evening, the supervising docotr came in and told me that she had good news and bad news. The good news was, they finally knew what was wrong with him. The bad news was, he had Bullous Impetigo,as did serveral other newborns that were from SMH. She had to put him on very strong antibiotics and until he was completely clear he could not leave. (Which turned out to be 2 weeks).
She kept us very informed as too his condition. A few days later, she sat down with me and started asking questions about his time at SMH. She asked if he was circumsized, etc. The day after, she came back and told me that she put in a report with the medical board to look into SMH. She tells me that all the newborns that have come in after being born at SMH, had the same problem, were all circumsized boys, etc. I asked her, what SMH could have done to cause this. She tells me there are only two possible ways, 1)The instruments they used had to be unsterilized or 2)One of the nurses or doctor must not have had their hands protected and had this problem. In turn touched each of these babies causing this epidemic.
I kept records of all the documents. I asked SMH's COS for an apologue, and never got it. My son was now ok and that's all I really cared about, but NEVER again will any of my family go to SMH for anything.