Many new parents worry about their children in any public setting, from the park to the grocery store and beyond. Each new place has threats of strangers, germs, and anything else the mind can imagine.
However, one place parents often feel safe with their infants is in the care of doctors and medical personnel.
That is what makes this story so heartbreaking.
Becky and Ryan Kekula recently experienced an unthinkable tragedy when their 6-month-old son, Jackson, was at a sleep study at Boston Children’s Hospital.
The couple–locals of Plymouth, Massachusetts–brought their baby for a car seat test and a sleep study on February 18, 2022. The studies were being completed at the hospital overnight.
Jackson’s parents told WCVB5 that their son’s heart rate and oxygen levels lowered dramatically. It was only a half hour later that the baby was in cardiac arrest.
Hospital staff attempted CPR on Jackson, but he had suffered severe levels of brain damage. In an unimaginable situation, the parents chose to take him off of life support after 12 days.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health later investigated the infant’s passing. They found that the staff at the hospital was guilty of making a series of errors that led to Jackson being deprived of oxygen for more than 20 minutes.
According to the same news outlet, the Kekulas were awarded a $15 million settlement from the hospital as a result of these findings.
After the settlement, Boston Children’s Hospital released a statement to WCVB5:
“We express our deepest condolences and apologize to the family for the loss of their son,” the hospital said. “Following this incident, we immediately stopped all sleep studies and began a thorough review of what occurred. We examined our policies, staff training, competencies and all systems that support sleep lab studies, including scheduling, ordering, triaging and performing the actual study.
“We identified and implemented several improvements for how we conduct sleep studies, including a revision of responsibilities of team members; hands-on skills training and education for sleep lab staff; enhanced sleep technologist orientation and ongoing training; modification of the ordering and triage process that assesses potential risks to patients; and a review of the environment in which testing is conducted. After this review and implementation of these improvements, sleep studies were reinstated in a phased manner to ensure patient safety.
“We continue to closely monitor the care delivery of sleep studies to ensure the highest levels of quality and safety for our patients and their families,” the statement ended. “We maintain our system-wide commitment to prioritizing and improving quality and safety as the foundation of all the care provided at Boston Children’s Hospital.”
That poor baby couldn’t scream for help. Somebody wasn’t doing what they should have been doing.
Prayers and sincere condolences to the family! 