ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Top officials at a Florida children’s hospital have resigned after a newspaper investigation found dramatic increases in the hospital’s mortality rates for heart surgeries.
The Tampa Bay Times reports Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital released a statement Tuesday saying CEO Dr. Jonathan Ellen, Vice President Jackie Crain and deputy director of the hospital’s Heart Institute Dr. Jeffrey Jacobs had resigned.
Dr. Paul Colombani stepped down as chair of the department of surgery, but will “continue in a clinical capacity.”
The newspaper reported that Crain and Colombani declined to comment. Ellen did not return requests for comment. Jacobs’ attorney said in a statement that Jacobs had been “forced out” and prevented from speaking on his own behalf.
A Times investigation found that the Heart Institute’s mortality rate tripled between 2015 and 2017.
___
Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.