Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

When medication errors happen | Morning Newsletter

And changes to 911 calls

Didier Epopa, a 55-year-old Landsdowne resident, came to the United States to flee civil unrest in his home country of Cameroon. He was working at a Philadelphia-area gas station when he got COVID and landed in Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. A doctor ordered an IV infusion of Remdesivir, commonly used to treat coronavirus. Instead, a hospital staffer scanned the wrong IV medication and gave him Nimbex, a paralytic so strong that it's administered to prisoners in lethal injections. The drug quickly shut down all his muscle function, including his ability to breathe or even blink. Epopa went without oxygen for nearly five minutes. Hospital workers revived him, but he is now unable to speak, walk or communicate. In April, Epopa and his wife filed a notice to sue the hospital in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.
Didier Epopa, a 55-year-old Landsdowne resident, came to the United States to flee civil unrest in his home country of Cameroon. He was working at a Philadelphia-area gas station when he got COVID and landed in Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. A doctor ordered an IV infusion of Remdesivir, commonly used to treat coronavirus. Instead, a hospital staffer scanned the wrong IV medication and gave him Nimbex, a paralytic so strong that it's administered to prisoners in lethal injections. The drug quickly shut down all his muscle function, including his ability to breathe or even blink. Epopa went without oxygen for nearly five minutes. Hospital workers revived him, but he is now unable to speak, walk or communicate. In April, Epopa and his wife filed a notice to sue the hospital in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.Read moreCourtesy of Edwige Tsafack / Courtesy of Edwige Tsafack
    by Taylor Allen
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

We’re halfway through the week.

The weather continues to be pretty consistent. Today we should have another day of sunny skies with temps reaching the low 50s.

Our lead story shines a spotlight on medication errors and how pervasive the problem has become.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

The catastrophic consequence of medication errors

In 2021, Didier Epopa was supposed to get a fifth and final dose of an antiviral drug to treat COVID at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. Instead, he has given a muscle-paralyzing drug that stopped his ability to breathe after a pharmacy intern mislabeled the IV bag.

The mistake left him with severe brain injuries. Now the 55-year-old Delaware County resident, who studied law in his native Cameroon and enjoyed eight-mile jogs, may never run or work again.

Medication errors are among the nation’s top 10 causes of patient deaths and permanent harm.

Important numbers: Each year, 7,000 to 9,000 people die from medication errors in the United States, while hundreds of thousands more survive with severe physical and emotional harm. In Pennsylvania last year, 9,741 patients died or suffered serious injury related to unintended medical consequences — an increase of 7.7% statewide from the year prior. Of those, 228 were caused by “wrong medication,” up from 172 in 2021, state data show.

Keep reading to learn why the problem is this prevalent.

Philly Police implement changes for 911 call-takers

911 call-takers now must ask additional questions of callers about the location of their emergencies.

The change is a direct response to when authorities botched a response to a call that preceded a mass shooting in Kingsessing in July that left four people dead.

Reminder: When police received a 911 call about a shooting on the 1600 block of 56th Street, officers were sent to North 56th Street which was three miles away from the crime scene on South 56th Street. Joseph Wamah had been killed, but his body wasn’t discovered until two days later — after the same gunman returned to the street and shot six more people.

Call-takers now ask callers whether there is a “directional indicator” for the street they are calling about, according to Interim Police Commissioner John M. Stanford. Other improvements like new software systems are also underway.

But according to 911 dispatchers, police brass, and frustrated residents, the problems don’t stop there.

Continue reading to get an understanding of why the radio room is in crisis.

What you should know today

  1. A key government witness testified that Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty received free home repairs paid for by the union his brother, John Dougherty, led for nearly 30 years.

  2. A former Fox News reporter who now works for the U.S. Rep Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) filed a lawsuit against the network, alleging that he was fired over his opposition to the network’s Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection coverage.

  3. Following several high-profile allegations against top officials, a bipartisan group of female state senators unveiled a package of legislation Tuesday aimed at combating sexual harassment in Pennsylvania’s capitol.

  4. A man suspected of an Overbook murder was just arrested for attacking Upper Darby commuters at SEPTA’s 69th Street Terminal last week. According to authorities, he has been charged with attempted murder.

  5. Columnist Elizabeth Wellington argued that the Colored Girls Museum shouldn’t close down over zoning board technicalities.

  6. The owners of Bernie Robbins Jewelers plan to step aside and give the business to their employees for free.

  7. A Philadelphia artificial intelligence start-up, BioPhy, said it could predict the outcomes of drug trials with 80% accuracy. Chelsea Clinton is one of its backers.

🧠 Trivia time

How much are Philadelphians planning to spend on average this holiday season?

Hint: This includes gifts and decorations

A) $2,000

B) $1,978

C) $1,842

D) $850

Think you know? Check your answer.

What we’re …

👀 Watching: A former fundraiser for U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Tuesday to posing as a congressional aide to raise campaign money.

💻 Viewing: Wicked actress Olivia Valli transforming into Elphaba. The production runs at the Academy of Music until Nov. 26.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: $400 Eagles jacket

ASPIRIN DANCES

We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Email us if you know the answer. Cheers to Marina Rinaldi, who correctly guessed Tuesday’s answer: Tinseltown.

Photo of the day

Happy Hump Day. Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. I’m starting mine with a cup of hot apple cider. 🍎 Stay warm out there.