St. Joseph Acts to Ease Neonatal-Care Fears

St. Joseph Hospital officials scurried to reassure expectant parents Tuesday that they would be safely matched up with the right infant after a mix-up sent a newborn baby home with the wrong parents over the weekend.

St. Joseph started sending representatives Tuesday to each of its 30 prenatal classes.

They will discuss the mix-up with about 600 expectant mothers. “We are anticipating that the moms may have some questions, so we want to let them know that both the couples are home and the babies are fine,” hospital spokeswoman Valerie Orleans said.

In addition, a copy of the correct hospital procedures for maternity patients has been delivered to each nursing unit throughout the hospital. For example, each time a baby is brought to the mother, their wristbands are supposed to be checked.

Parents Iliana Bravo, 34, and Brian Lambert, 40, of Tustin had been home from the hospital for about 90 minutes Sunday when St. Joseph called to say the baby they had brought with them was the wrong one. The parents have since been reunited with their son, Aaron Alexander.

The baby swap has created a small ripple of concern among some Orange County hospitals and expectant parents.

At St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, officials there said, the entire labor delivery and postnatal nursing staff Tuesday attended a session to review its procedures for mothers and babies.

Hospital officials also visited each mother in the maternity ward to discuss security precautions.

“We walked through every single room in labor and delivery and reminded all the parents to make sure they’re checking their children’s bands every time a child is brought in and out of the room or especially at discharge,” said Debra Legan, director of corporate communications.

Women in the hospital’s prenatal classes will receive similar instructions, Legan said.

Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center also is scrutinizing its maternity ward policies in hopes of preventing a mix-up.

“We’re reviewing our policy right now to make sure we do not have a similar mistake here,” spokeswoman Kathleen O’Brien said.

At St. Joseph, infants are identified with bracelets that carry their names and a number--a system common at many hospitals.

Mothers and babies should have wristbands with matching information, but after the hospital called and Lambert checked the infant’s wristband against his wife’s, he found they did not match.

Hospital officials believe the mix-up was the result of a series of mistakes that probably began when the boys were placed in the wrong bassinets. Their true identities were repeatedly overlooked.

Four nurses have been placed on leave pending the outcome of the hospital’s internal investigation.

Several area obstetricians also said they have been talking to concerned patients.

“I have had to talk to some patients--multiple patients--to reassure them,” Dr. Daniel Dobalian said. “I tell them that St. Joseph is considered one of the finest hospitals in the county and that it was an unfortunate event that occurred because of human error.”

Dobalian said he has delivered 5,000 to 6,000 babies in his 20 years as an obstetrician and never seen a similar case.

Santa Ana obstetrician Dr. Kathy Anderson said several of her mothers-to-be also asked her about hospital safety measures after they heard about the switched babies.

‘Their questions weren’t specific to St. Joseph, but they were just wondering in terms of the safety of any hospital,” Anderson said.

She tells patients that it is important for them to check their baby’s identification wristband and not to rely solely on nurses.

“It’s important to realize these things happen extremely rarely,” Anderson said. “However, rare doesn’t mean never.”