MDH releases annual Adverse Health Events Report

(ABC 6 News) – When you check into a hospital the hope and expectation is to get better not worse. But a new report from the Minnesota Department of Health says the number of adverse health events at state hospitals is going up, not down. This report utilizes data collected from hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers across the state over the last year.

572 total events were reported. This is the up from 508 the previous year. Pressure ulcers (290) and falls (79) stay as the top two events, despite a decrease in falls from 2021 (86).

When it comes to harmful events, serious injury went down to 178 compared to 206 the previous year. But this is the troubling number 21 deaths in 2022. That’s the second highest since the department of health started this report, peaking in 2006 with 24 deaths.

The Minnesota Department of Health says they are still feeling the effects of the pandemic.

“We are seeing increased patient complexity due to COVID-19, due to complications arriving from delays in seeking care and increase length of stay,” said Adverse Health Events/Patient Safety Program Director Rachel Jokela.

She adds that longer stays mean more chances for something bad to happen.

Another contributor to the spike is short staffing that continues to plague hospitals not only in Minnesota but across the nation.

(Click here) for the full report.