Healthcare Inspection Alleged Patient Abuse and Quality of Care Issues Louis Stokes VA Medical Center Cleveland, Ohio

The VA Office of Inspector General, Office of Healthcare Inspections, reviewed allegations related to patient abuse and quality of care at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. The complainant provided limited information related to the alleged abuse; however, we found no evidence of abuse based our review of relevant documents and staff interviews. Further, while the patient’s death did result from a perforated bowel during hernia repair surgery, this is an unfortunate but known potential complication of the procedure. When the perforated bowel and subsequent sepsis were discovered, clinical staff aggressively treated the patient’s multiple and complex medical issues. We did not make any recommendations.