The Co-Knuckleheads of the Day award Part One

There are just too many out there to give just one today.

Our first winner is Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis Indiana and its Chief Executive Officer, Sam Odle. They get the award for the following.

INDIANAPOLIS - Two premature infants died after receiving adult doses of a blood thinner, a hospital said Sunday, blaming the incident on human error.

Four other infants in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit of Methodist Hospital also received adult doses of Heparin, and one might need surgery, said Sam Odle, chief executive of Methodist and Indiana University Hospitals. The other three were in serious condition.

Two babies born at 25 and 26 weeks' gestation died Saturday night, Odle said. Both were born in the last week, officials said. A full-term pregnancy lasts 38 to 42 weeks.

"These are very, very small babies," Odle said. "We are confident that no other infants except for the six were affected."

Heparin is routinely used in premature infants to prevent blood clots that could clog intravenous drug tubes, said Dr. James Lemons, a neonatologist at Riley Hospital for Children.

An overdose could cause severe internal bleeding, he said.

Hospital officials had met with family members, Odle said, adding: "Our hearts go out to the families."

But apologies did not satisfy Whitney Alexander, mother of one of the infants who died.

"They may apologize but it didn't help," she told WTHR-TV in Indianapolis. "It didn't help, because I feel like whoever the nurse was on call, they should know what they were doing and how much my baby should have."

The hospital was investigating how the error occurred and reviewing its drug-handling procedures. Some corrective steps had already been taken, Odle said.

"This was human error — that's all," Odle said.

It don't matter whether it was an accident or not Mr. Odle, these babies deaths are your hospital's responsibility. How would you feel if you were one of dead children's parents? As a parent of a premature baby who died, I can sympathize with Ms. Alexander. There is nothing worse a parent can go through than losing one of their children.

So prepare to write a check with a lot of zeros Mr. Odle. No jury in the world is going to care that it was human error, for the bottom line is that the hospital screwed up and two children are dead for it. Before that settlement happens(and it will), you Sam Odle and Methodist Hospital Indianapolis Indiana are today's first Co-knuckleheads of the day.

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