Hospital accreditation agency won't take action in U-M child porn case
- Previous story: U-M President Mary Sue Coleman calls 6-month delay in reporting child porn 'serious failure'
A hospital accreditation agency that was investigating a complaint about University of Michigan Health System’s 6-month delay in reporting child porn to police has decided not to take further action after looking at the university's internal review of the case, university officials said.
The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals across the country, reviewed the internal report that says the university will bring in an outside expert to assess the "safety and security culture and help us achieve needed change."
University of Michigan Hospital
Findings of the internal review were turned over Friday to the Joint Commission, U-M spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said. The Joint Commission emailed university officials Monday to say no other action was being taken, Fitzgerald said.
U-M Health System CEO Ora Pescovitz wrote an email to health system employees Tuesday to let them know and posted it on her blog.
Her message says in part, "we learned that The Joint Commission reviewed our response to the incident and our plan moving forward, and determined that they do not need to take further action at this time."
Bret Coons, a spokesman for the Joint Commission, did not have details Tuesday night on the decision.
Court records show that university officials waited months to report it to police after a resident physician found child porn on a thumb drive that was left in a locked lounge residents use in the Pediatric Emergency Department at U-M Hospital. The child porn was found in May, but wasn't reported to police until November. A physician who knew about the child porn came forward in November, in part, because of the Penn State University football child sex abuse scandal.
Stephen Jenson, 36, who worked as a resident physician at the hospital until late December, was charged with four counts of possessing child sexually abusive material. He is scheduled to return to court Thursday for a preliminary hearing.
Lee Higgins is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
annarbor28
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 11:52 p.m.
@Bhav: The university could have legally taken the computer and searched for the images. They also could have spoken with the REAL police and obtained a search warrant for the guy's house, which is what they did eventually. As far as porn and happiness, it is illegal to create or view child porn. Period. Using it perpetuates child exploitation. Hopefully in prison this guy will be showing lots of other inmates "happiness," assuming the charges are correct.
BhavanaJagat
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 6:34 p.m.
I am not surprised to read this news story. The discovery made by a female pediatric intern in the lounge used by Pediatric Emergency Department is basically illegal and reporting that illegal discovery caused the problem of delay. The subsequent notification and the action taken by DPS is still attributable to the original illegal search and seizure of evidence. Hopefully, the Court will get a chance to decide upon the admissibality of evidence in this case. If people are deriving mental satisfaction from viewing pornographic images, it would be reasonable to instruct them and train them about finding happiness in life.
julieswhimsies
Thu, Feb 16, 2012 : 6:31 a.m.
Viewing child pornography is illegal. Period. The particular piece of pornography possessed by this resident Pediatrician was particularly heinous,in that it portrayed abuse as well. The young female resident did not seize this evidence. The evidence was found in the suspect's home. There was due cause to search and seize the evidence from this man's home. It sounds to me as if this guy was simply fired after a 6 month delay on the advice of U of M attorneys. I hope to God, for children everywhere that they revoked his license to practice medicine, at the very least. I have not heard a word about what real law enforcement...the Ann Arbor Police have said about this crime and coverup. Has anyone heard of any statements by law enforcement?
Silly Sally
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 12:13 p.m.
As she very likely chanted in her youth about someone (a president?) near her present age Hey HEY ho HO Mary Sue Coleman has got to go!
trespass
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 10:40 a.m.
Did the Joint Commission decide whether or not this was a sentinel event? Did UM just submit the internal investigation report or is there another report? FOIA that report.
annarbor28
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 4:56 a.m.
So are any of these learned people actually concerned about the child porn, and why the university did not care enough to pursue it? This was the Joint Commission's chance to actually make a statement, but it decided their failure to act was acceptable, let bygones be bygones. Now the Joint Commission can resume doing hospital inspections to make sure no one has a water bottle to drink out of in a nursing station. No one cares about the failure to protect children. This is what the world has fallen to. Now Ora and Mary Sue can continue on in their self-congratulatory manner, and they can keep earning their millions, with nothing on their consciences. Right.
Arborcomment
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 4:17 a.m.
Wow! Incredibly quick feedback from the administration on this "good" news. Wish they worked at the same speed when child porn was discovered and linked to a ped resident. Nope.
Silly Sally
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 12:16 p.m.
It shows that they can hide bad malpractice info, if needbe. As she very likely chanted in her youth about someone (a president?) near her present age Hey HEY ho HO Mary Sue Coleman has got to go!
mary
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 4:16 a.m.
I will not use this hospital again. What the Joint Commission did shows me they are a agency no longer needed or respected. What the U-M didn't do shows me the same.
julieswhimsies
Thu, Feb 16, 2012 : midnight
There are many outstanding hospitals in the area. I usually go to Royal Oak's Beaumont Hospital. Henry Ford has multiple facilities in Detroit and the surrounding areas. These hospitals are not only well thought of, they are famous for their care. U of M had lots of shiny new building. Other hospitals have outstanding patient care, and top notch physicians and nurses.
Doug
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 1:24 p.m.
When you're really sick and need the outstanding services of our country's finest doctors you may change your mind.
a2citizen
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 2:01 a.m.
Did you expect anything different? The only thing left is for the Department of Education to announce they are not going to do anything.
Sallyxyz
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 1:28 a.m.
Michigan man, actually the number of deaths caused by hospital errors and hospital contracted infections is closer to 200,000 per year in the US. These are all preventable. 100,000 alone die every year from infections contracted in the hospital. Your chances of dying from a hospital error is 1 in 300, while your chance of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 10 million. One in 5 of all hospitalized patients suffer from medical errors. So the Joint Commission has a lot of work to do. Given their track record, this decision doesn't surprise me.
Michigan Man
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 1:39 a.m.
xyz - I stand corrected - thank you and I agree with your comments.
Michigan Man
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 1 a.m.
It would be prudent not to read too much into the Joint Commission response, although it is a favorable indicator. While I am far from an expert on Joint Commission matters, I believe over the past number of years the Joint Commission has not terminated the accreditation of one US hospital - Not one US hospital has been closed as a result of termination of accreditation status - The founders of the Joint Commission were the AMA, AHA, ANA + two other sponsors (I believe two others) so over the years the Joint Commission has been reasonably favorable to provider institutions - do not bite the hand that feeds you. This said, U of M hospitals leadership I would think has had a giant wake-up call and probably is now more attentive to many seemingly myopic hospital matters these days due to this near miss. Protecting patients and advocating for patient safety, although at times not very glamorous, need to be the U of M hospitals top mission. What did I read - on an annual basis 100,000 preventable deaths occur in US hospitals. One would hope that this tragic matter would, over time, strengthen the provision of high quality care at the U of M hospital system.
Sciomanone1
Thu, Feb 16, 2012 : 2:11 p.m.
Your are so right about what you wrote, when I wrote to the joint comm. About co-workers sleeping during work time and patients almost died, soon later I was fired and the sleeping workers were promoted and just like this situation the top administration did nothing and got away with it. They just fire any worker that Will speak up about patients and the care and treatment they get.
Silly Sally
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 12:14 p.m.
As she very likely chanted in her youth about someone (a president?) near her present age Hey HEY ho HO Mary Sue Coleman has got to go!!
roll tide
Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 1 a.m.
Does not suprize me!