Nurses’ complaints prompt DPH investigation of Mass. hospital [Video]

Framingham Union Hospital, part of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, is under investigation by Massachusetts health officials after unionized nurses submitted a letter raising concerns about the facility. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed to NewsCenter 5 that the investigation was launched in response to the 8-page letter submitted by the Massachusetts Nurses Association on Sept. 16. In their letter, the union alleged that the for-profit company’s cost-cutting is putting patients at risk. “Registered nurses have documented and reported to hospital management specific deficiencies in staffing, hospital policies, allocation of technology resulting in dangerous delays in the administration of needed medications and treatments, preventable patient falls and other complications, including preventable sentinel events,” the union’s letter states. In healthcare, sentinel events are defined as a patient safety incident that results in serious harm, death, or permanent harm.One nurse said that investigators from the Department of Public Health visited the hospital on …