Opinion ID: 2033477
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: fall lists

Text: During the course of additional discovery in the underlying case, Collins learned that two registered nurses at the hospital, Dolores Gaeta and Sandra Slodkoski, had prepared lists of patient falls that had occurred in their respective departments. On March 22, 1999, Collins served upon AMISUB notices to take the depositions of these nurses. Included in the notices were requests that Gaeta and Slodkoski produce all records relating to falls at the hospital authored by them between 1990 and 1995. Gaeta and Slodkoski were each deposed by Collins on March 30, 1999. At the start of the depositions, AMISUB's counsel stated that neither deponent would produce the documents requested by Collins. AMISUB's counsel claimed that the documents were privileged pursuant to § 71-2046 et seq. On April 9, 1999, Collins filed a motion to compel seeking a court order compelling AMISUB to produce the two lists compiled by Gaeta and Slodkoski. On April 23, AMISUB responded to Collins' motion by filing a motion to quash and motion for a protective order, arguing that the lists were privileged pursuant to § 71-2046 et seq. In support of its motion, AMISUB offered the affidavit of Belfiore, dated May 12, 1999, which stated, inter alia, that the hospital formed a number of quality improvement committees ... in compliance with Neb.Rev.Stat. § 71-2046. In Belfiore's affidavit, she further stated as follows: 4. The Quality and Utilization Review Department performs the review required by Neb.Rev.Stat. & sect; 71-2046. Pursuant to the standing policy directive of the Quality and Utilization Review Department, nurse managers and unit based quality assurance committees are required to identify those areas of patient care with potential for improvement. 5. The quality assurance information compiled by Sandra Slodkoski and Dolores Gaeta was performed in compliance with the standing directive of the Quality and Utilization Review Committee. Belfiore did not attach to her affidavit a copy of the standing policy directive or the standing directive to which she refers in her affidavit. Belfiore did not further identify or explain either the Quality and Utilization Review Department or the Quality and Utilization Review Committee to which she referred in her affidavit. In her deposition, Slodkoski testified that she was the hospital's nurse manager for the 4600 step-down telemetry unit. She testified that beginning in approximately 1992 and continuing into 1994, she compiled a list of information relating to patient falls in her unit. Her handwritten list consisted of the patient's name, the patient's room number, the time and date of the fall, and a description of the fall. Slodkoski testified that she derived the information for her list from hospital incident reports reciting factual events prior to their filing and that she compiled the information as part of her duty to oversee the quality of nursing in the 4600 unit. There is no evidence that Slodkoski is or is not a member of the hospital's quality committee. Slodkoski testified that no one at the hospital requested that she prepare the list, that she kept the list in her own quality assurance book, and that no one at the hospital reviewed her list. She did state, however, that she would periodically review the information contained in the list with her own unit's quality committee, a unit-based quality committee consisting of Slodkoski, two or three staff nurses, and the hospital's director of nursing. Specifically, AMISUB produced no evidence that any hospital-wide committee, such as the hospital's quality committee identified by Belfiore in her July 1, 1998, deposition, requested, reviewed, or utilized the information in Slodkoski's fall list. Gaeta testified in her deposition that she was the hospital's nurse manager for the 5100 step-down medical surgery unit. She stated that beginning in 1994 and continuing into 1996, she compiled a list of information relating to patient falls in her unit. There is no evidence that she was requested to prepare the list by the quality committee. Included in her list was the patient's name, the date and time of the fall, and a description of the fall. Gaeta further testified she might have included in her list a medical record number, so that she could index the information to a medical file. Like Slodkoski, Gaeta testified that she obtained the information for her fall list from hospital incident reports reciting factual events. She also testified that she prepared the list as part of her quality assurance duties and that she kept the list in her own personal quality assurance notebook. There is no evidence that Gaeta is or is not a member of the hospital's quality committee. Further, AMISUB produced no evidence that any hospital-wide medical staff or quality committee requested, reviewed, or utilized the information in Gaeta's fall list. In the underlying case, on May 13, 1999, an evidentiary hearing was held on Collins' motion to compel and AMISUB's motion to quash and motion for a protective order, all relating to the discovery of the fall lists compiled by Gaeta and Slodkoski. By docket entry entered on June 3, 1999, the district court denied AMISUB's motion for a protective order and ordered that the fall lists be produced. According to AMISUB's brief, the fall lists have not yet been produced, and we note that no copy of either of the fall lists appears in the record. On August 9, 1999, AMISUB filed with this court an application for leave to file an original action for a peremptory writ of mandamus, compelling the district court judge to vacate his orders entered on November 19, 1998, and June 3, 1999. On September 15, we granted AMISUB an alternative writ of mandamus, ordering the district court judge to vacate and set aside his order of November 19, 1998, which had sustained Collins' motion to compel discovery of the incident report and had overruled AMISUB's motion for a protective order, and his order of June 3, 1999, which had sustained Collins' motion to compel discovery of the fall lists and had overruled AMISUB's motion to quash and motion for a protective order, or to appear and show cause why a peremptory writ commanding the district court to do so should not issue. Because Judge Corrigan retired from the bench, Judge Buckley, who was appointed to replace Judge Corrigan as the district court judge in the underlying case, responded to this court's September 15, 1999, order to show cause on September 22, stating that he had again considered the issues raised by the motions resulting in [the] orders of November 19, 1998 and June 3, 1999 and reache[d] the same conclusion [as Judge Corrigan]. Thereafter, on October 14, this court appointed a special master to conduct an evidentiary hearing for the purpose of making findings of fact. The evidentiary hearing was held on November 29, and the special master received into evidence 39 exhibits. Thereafter, on January 11, 2000, the special master filed his findings of fact. AMISUB, as the relator, has filed briefs in this mandamus action. Collins was granted leave by this court to file an amicus brief in this mandamus action. Judge Buckley waived notice or appearance at the evidentiary hearing before the special master and has not filed a brief with regard to the mandamus action before this court.