In response to the NBC Investigators story on the Delaware Hospital baby mix-up, Terry Murphy, FACHE, President, and CEO of the Bayhealth Medical Center released the following statement:
Bayhealth quickly became aware of the situation and responded immediately. We disclosed the error to both families and rapidly put additional safety measures in place. These additional measures included:
First: Only one baby at a time will be placed in the procedure room. (This will prevent the initial error when the first baby was placed in the second baby’s bassinette and taken to the second baby’s mother.)
Second: The baby match identification system is used exclusively by our nurses and provides a double layer of protection by requiring the nurse to verbally compare the mother’s wrist band number with the baby’s number. This is done by having the mother read her wristband number while the nurse verifies the number on the baby’s wrist.
Third: As an added measure of security, the baby’s band and the mother’s band are scanned with an electronic monitoring device. A green light signals the match is correct.
Fourth: Parents receive education about this system during prenatal classes and upon admission to make sure they understand it and are engaged in the matching process.
Fifth: After-discharge phone calls are made to new mothers. During these calls the mother is asked whether her nurse verified the number on the wrist band and double checked the band using the scanner.
The changes implemented have now been in place for over two years. They have resulted in an even more safe and secure environment for our patients.
