Family of Patient Who Died From Anesthesia Error Joins Hospital Safety Committee

The family of a patient who died under anesthesia during a procedure at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago has joined the hospital's safety committee to help prevent future errors, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Michelle Malizzo Ballog was undergoing surgery to replace a temporary stent in her liver when providers made monitoring errors while she was under anesthesia. Ms. Ballog stopped breathing and suffered cardiac arrest on the operating table, then lapsed into a coma and died nine days later.

The family said that when they found out Ms. Ballog died from an anesthesia error, hospital officials were honest and up-front about the mistake. The family responded by joining the hospital's safety review committee instead of suing. In their roles as lay members of the committee, the patient's three family members hear about medical errors and near-misses that occur at UIC with the goal of determining how future mistakes can be avoided.

Patient safety experts have praised the hospital for being transparent about the errors, saying the case highlights the role that patients and families can play in fixing a complex problem in healthcare.

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