Minnesota hospitals reporting increase in errors, avoidable deaths, and serious injuries

(St. Paul, MN) -- The Minnesota Department of Health says state hospitals are still dealing with pandemic-related factors that have increased avoidable deaths and serious injuries.  

The health department released a report this week showing that 21 avoidable deaths and 178 serious injuries happened at Minnesota hospitals last year.  The number of deaths was the highest recorded in the state since 2006. Deaths were attributed to factors like patient falls, failure to follow up on test results, staffing shortages, and longer, more intensive hospital stays.  The Department of Health says pandemic-related challenges like staffing shortages and high patient volume were factors in the increase.

The state also saw an increase in errors overall. Minnesota reported 572 hospital errors in 2022, which is an increase from the 508 reported incidents in 2021.