State Disclosure Reports
- Maine 2013 Hospital Infections Report
Source: Maine Quality Forum (Friday April 26, 2013)
- January 2010 Hospital-Aquired Infection Report from Maine
- Health care associated infections in Maine: 2009
Consumers Union Documents
- Safe Patient Project activist Kathy Day featured in “Inside Consumer Reports” newsletter
Kathy Day’s patient safety activism highlighted. Kathy lost her father to hospital-acquired MRSA and has been working to improve patient safety ever since.
- Health and Human Services Grants for hospital infection prevention at surgical centers
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius designates ARRA money to stand-alone or same-day surgical centers to fight hospital infections in 12 states.
- State Hospital Infection Public Reporting Laws
Summary of state laws hospital infection reporting laws.
- Maine first state in nation to require public clinical trials
Groundbreaking law will help improve drug safety for all Americans
- Requiring Drug Companies to Disclose Marketing Expenditures to Physicians
Drug marketing emphasizes the latest and most expensive drugs even though these drugs may not be the best in their category according to the medical evidence.
Blog Posts
- Safe Patient Project teams up with Maine activist Kathy Day
Safe Patient Project’s Daniela Nunez went to healthcare and patient safety-related meetings in Maine this week, joining activist Kathy Day who won a patient partnership award at the Maine Quality Counts conference. Read about important health care conversations happening in Maine.
- On our radar: Maine dialysis centers may be bought by dialysis corporate giant—what’s at stake for patients?
Three dialysis clinics run by the nonprofit hospital Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) may soon be purchased by one of the country’s largest for-profit dialysis companies, Total Renal Care, Inc., a subsidiary of Colorado-based DaVita, Inc. The deal is expected to close early this summer after a state review process.
- Cancer patient asks hospitals for their infection rates
Seeking safe healthcare for her cancer treatment, patient safety advocate–Kathy Day of Maine–recalls the transparency hurdles she faced when she asked a hospital for its infection rates.
- Consumer voices to be heard at national hospital infection meeting
Meet the eleven consumer advocates who will be attending a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)hospital infection meeting this week.
- Patient safety activists hold “conversation” with CDC
On June 16, Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project and 11 patient safety advocates from 10 states attended the first “Consumer Conversation on Healthcare-Associated Infections” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
- Let’s talk about MRSA
Learn about MRSA from the people who have had personal experiences with this harmful superbug.
News Articles
- Flesh-eating bacteria killed Maine teenager after oral surgery
Source: Portland Press Herald (Thursday June 19, 2014)
Maine teen dies after oral surgery from flesh eating bacteria. About one in 20 people who have oral surgery experience some sort of infection, according to a University of Washington expert.
- Bangor doctor closes practice in wake of employee’s billing fraud
Source: Bangor Daily News (Tuesday December 31, 2014)
Bangor Daily News reports: “A Bangor gynecologist has abruptly shuttered his women’s health center after settling a federal complaint over false billing and filing for bankruptcy earlier this year.”
- FDA investigating surgical robots used at three Maine hospitals
Source: Bangor Daily News (Thursday December 5, 2013)
Bangor Daily News reports: “A surgical robot used by three Maine hospitals is under federal scrutiny following reports that the units may stall during procedures and problems possibly linked to the devices are on the rise.”
- Article by Kathy Day: EMMC can’t bring back Heather Nichols, but it can do right by her family
Source: Bangor Daily News (Friday November 1, 2013)
Patient safety advocate Kathy Day discusses the tragic death of a woman who died shortly after giving birth in a Maine hospital.
- Kathy Day, RN, Receives 2013 Patient Safety Academy Rising Tide Award
Source: Maine Quality Counts (Tuesday September 17, 2013)
Kathy Day, RN, patient activist and advocate, received the 2013 Patient Safety Academy’s “Rising Tide Award” for her contributions in patient safety. Kathy is a member of Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project network.
- Kathy Day’s blog post about a young mother who died from Necrotizing Faciitis after giving birth
Source: McCleary MRSA Prevention (Monday September 2, 2013)
Kathy Day, patient safety advocate from Maine, blogs about the devastating loss of a young mother from Maine who died soon after giving birth to her daughter. The woman had caught flesh eating disease or Necrotizing Faciitis. Kathy, Maine Quality Forum Healthcare Associated Infections consumer member, has questions about this young woman’s death that are similar to when her own father died of MRSA in a Maine hospital.
- Bangor man warns of rare flesh-eating infection that killed his wife days after childbirth
Source: Bangor Daily News (Wednesday August 14, 2013)
Young mother dies from an infection days after giving birth.
- Reports: Maine ranks first in hospital safety, medical errors on decline but some still serious
Source: Bangor Daily News (Tuesday May 14, 2013)
Maine hospitals receive high marks on hospital safety according to Leapfrog Group ratings. Patient safety activist Kathy Day, member of CU’s Safe Patient Project network, quoted.
- Doctor who runs Bangor Women’s HealthCare will pay almost $300,000 to settle fed complaint
Source: Bangor Daily News (Wednesday March 13, 2013)
A local board-certified gynecologist who operates three medical facilities for women’s health has agreed to pay almost $300,000 to settle a federal complaint over improper billing of Medicare and MaineCare.
- Kathy Day Letter to Bangor Daily News: DaVita Medicare fraud
Source: Bangor Daily News (Friday January 4, 2013)
Maine patient safety activist Kathy Day has a letter published in the Bangor Daily News about DaVita, a dialysis chain that was recently allowed to operate in her local area.
Research and Reports
- What to Do if You Have a Concern About the Quality of Care from a Maine DoctorThis tip sheet explains steps you can take in your doctor’s office to deal with your concerns about quality. It tells you how to contact places that regulate or oversee doctors.
- What To Do If You Have a Concern About Quality in a Maine Nursing HomeAdvice and resources for dealing with quality concerns
- What to Do if You Have a Concern about Quality in a Maine HospitalAdvice and resources for dealing with quality concerns