Providence said it is taking action after the California attorney general filed a lawsuit against one of its hospitals that allegedly denied a woman an emergency abortion.
In February, Anna Nusslock, a chiropractor pregnant with twins, went to Eureka, Calif.-based Providence St. Joseph Hospital after her water broke 15 weeks into pregnancy. She was diagnosed with previable preterm premature rupture of membranes, which can quickly lead to infection or hemorrhaging. Standard treatment includes an abortion. Physicians told her that she could face infection, hemorrhaging and threats to future fertility if the pregnancy was not terminated. However, they could not perform the abortion because the hospital's policy prohibited providing abortions unless the mother's life was at risk and while the fetuses have a pulse. After several hours, Ms. Nusslock's husband drove her to Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata, Calif., where she arrived hemorrhaging and passing a blood clot the size of an apple. One fetus was expelled and she was rushed to an operating room to have the other removed.
"We are heartbroken over the experience this patient had while in our care and reached out to her today in an effort to express our profound apologies," Providence Northern California Service Area Chief Executive Garry Olney said in a letter to all Northern California Providence caregivers that was shared with Becker's. "This was a tragic situation that did not meet our high standards for safe, quality, compassionate care."
Mr. Olney said the hospital is immediately revisiting its training, education and escalation process in emergency medical situations to prevent the situation from happening again and ensure care teams have the training and support needed to deliver the best possible care.
The attorney general's lawsuit alleged that Catholic-affiliated Providence violated multiple California laws by refusing to provide emergency abortion care to people experiencing obstetric emergencies. In addition to the lawsuit, the attorney general has moved for a preliminary injunction to prevent Providence from following its policy.
"Providence hospitals abide by applicable federal and state laws, specifically including the EMTALA," a hospital spokesperson told Becker's. The hospital also permits procedures, treatments and medications to treat serious health conditions even if the consequence is termination of a pregnancy and interventions in cases of extrauterine pregnancy are also permitted.
"As devasted as we are, we can’t begin to imagine what the patient and her family have been through," Mr. Olney said. "We will learn from this and renew our commitment to ensuring that the care and experience we deliver are aligned with our high standards, every time and in every care setting."