Swedish Health Services CEO Tony Armada resigned and the health system named an interim CEO during an ongoing investigation into Swedish medical practices.
State health regulators launched an investigation into the practices of Swedish Health Services' Cherry Hill hospital, days after a Seattle Times report uncovered wide-ranging concerns about patient care at the facility.
The Times investigation by reporter Mike Baker showed a dramatic shift in the surgical volume at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute based as Swedish’s Cherry Hill campus, and how top neuroscience doctors led higher billing.
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“We conduct routine reviews and audits so that we can continuously improve our performance,” Swedish CEO Tony Armada said in an open letter to patients and the community after the investigation. “Like all other health care organizations, we have regular announced and unannounced visits from regulatory agencies to review our environment of care,”
He also acknowledged the system failed Talia Goldenberg, a patient who died at Swedish and was the focus of another investigate report. Armada said "we deeply regret such a tragedy occurred on our watch."
Armada said any findings from visits to Swedish hospitals are taken seriously and are dealt with appropriately.
Follow this link to read Baker's special report in The Seattle Times.
Armada resigned from Swedish Health Services on Monday. The announcement was made on Tuesday. The hospital named Dr. R. Guy Hudson, as the new interim Chief Executive.
KIRO 7 reviewed hundreds of pages of documents from the Department of Health investigation into practices at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute.
An anonymous whistleblower complained there were "inappropriate surgeries, increase in complications and infection rates, unsupervised surgeries."
The state found most of the complaints unsubstantiated, but did cite the hospital for failing to have an adequate system in place for assessing competency of temporary staff hired through staffing agencies.
Last Thursday, after a Seattle Times investigation and push from local legislators, the state reopened that investigation.
Tonia McLinn has been very interested in Department of Health findings.
She lives in Alaska, about two hours outside Anchorage.
The 49-year-old mother of three had surgery for a brain aneurysm at Swedish Cherry Hill in 2014, and then had complications and needed more surgeries.
"When I found out there was a less invasive option, I got really angry," said McLinn on Tuesday.
McLinn says she was a patient of Dr. Johnny Delashaw at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute.
Dr. Delashaw is the focus of two open investigations by the medical commission.
Swedish Cherry Hill is also under investigation by the state department of health. All three investigations are linked to the volume of surgeries at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute.
Today the hospital announced Chief Executive Tony Armada resigned and Swedish Board of Trustees named Dr. R. Guy Hudson, as the new interim Chief Executive.
McLinn is hopeful the state will continue to dig into the practices at Swedish Cherry Hill.
"I wouldn't want anybody else to have to go through this. I hope all the investigations will either correct it or get better doctors," said McLinn.