Mar 19, 2009 6:04 pm US/Eastern
Health Dept. Investigates After Infants' Deaths
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Thursday the Miami-Dade Health Department held a press conference informing the public it is helping Miami Children's Hospital investigate an infection that killed two babies over the weekend.
Dr. Vincent Conte with the Health Department has been assigned to the case. He says he was informed about the deaths on Monday and that on Wednesday; he visited the Neo-Natal Intensive Care unit where the babies died.
"(I)…spoke with head officials on medical staff and was assured that everything that could be done is being done to insure the safety of all the children in the hospital," said Dr. Conte.
The unit takes care of the premature babies that require constant care. Doctors are now keeping watch on a third baby that was also affected by the infection. The child is said to be improving but is battling other medical challenges unrelated to the infection.
As for what the infection is--officials say they don't have enough information.
"As far as elaborating on the type of bacteria that's causing the infection, we prefer not to say at this point because again we've heard word of mouth but haven't seen anything in writing," said Dr. Conte.
In order to confirm what killed the babies, specimens of the bacteria have been sent to the State Health Department in Tallahassee for testing.
At this time the Health Department is backing Miami Children's Hospital calling it "safe and reputable". But losing two babies in one weekend definitely has raised concerns.
"It's not unusual for children to die because of infection at a hospital," said Dr. Fermin Leguen, of the Miami-Dade Health Department. "But what is unusual is for more than one (child) to die of infection in consecutive days at the same facility."
Miami Children's also released the following statement:
``Our highly ranked Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit continues to provide the highest level of care for the children of this community. The Miami-Dade Department of Health visited our facility and expressed that all precautionary measures to ensure patient safety have been observed. We would like to reassure our community that Miami Children's Hospital is committed to the highest standards of quality and safety in the care of our children and their families.''
Late Thursday night the hospital released this statement, to remind the public that their NICU is still operating:
"Our nationally ranked Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) continues to be open, providing care for the regions critically ill newborns. The definitive cause of the babies deaths is not yet determined, but we continue to actively pursue conclusive information. The hospital has collaborated with the Miami-Dade County Department of Health, taking every precautionary measure to protect and ensure the safety of all our patients.
We would like for the community to know that the hospital is safe and follows the highest standards of care."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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