Elisha Crews Bryant died May 26, from an overdose of medication at South Florida Baptist Hospital.

Video: Hospital Admits Mistake

By DAVE NICHOLSON
The Tampa Tribune

PLANT CITY - Preston Bryant was so happy to learn that his wife was in labor - albeit a few weeks early - that he forgot to clock out at his construction job at a mobile home factory.

In a few hours, though, Bryant would be a widower with a premature son fighting for life in a neonatal unit.

His wife, Elisha Crews Bryant, 18, died May 26 about three hours after a veteran South Florida Baptist Hospital nurse mistakenly administered an overdose of a drug commonly used to stop premature labor.

Elisha Bryant was buried June 1, the day after her husband’s 21st birthday.

“She was beautiful,” he said of Elisha, whom he started dating six years ago. He was in high school then, she in middle school. The couple had a daughter, Tailor, who is almost 3, and married two years ago.

“I couldn’t ask for a better mom and a better wife.”

The young mother’s death left a family grieving and the hospital staff in emotional pain.

On Wednesday, Preston Bryant blamed South Florida Baptist as he fought tears and occasionally broke down while speaking to reporters.

“It should have never happened,” he said.

The Plant City hospital acknowledged Wednesday that an employee made a tragic mistake and said it had offered its apologies to the Bryant family. Hospital Chief Operating Officer Bill Ulbricht said the nurse who administered the dose is on administrative leave pending an investigation.

“She is extremely devastated,” Ulbricht said of the nurse, who he said has more than 20 years of experience. He would not identify her.

“This is a tragic, isolated incident. The entire health care team at South Florida Baptist Hospital is truly devastated by this situation, and we are providing emotional counseling for them,” Ulbricht said.

Common Medication

When Bryant arrived at South Florida Baptist with labor pains about seven months into her pregnancy, her physician ordered magnesium sulfate, a common medication to stop premature labor, Ulbricht said. The nurse miscalculated and administered the medication via an intravenous line too quickly, he said.

The young mother began having trouble breathing, went into cardiac arrest and could not be revived, said Doug Burnetti, a Lakeland attorney who represents Preston Bryant.

Burnetti said medical records show Elisha Bryant received 16 grams of magnesium sulfate, four times the proper dose.

Ulbricht said this is the first time in his 11 years at South Florida Baptist that he can recall such a mistake. The hospital has about 500 deliveries a year. According to news reports, overdoses of magnesium sulfate were blamed for the deaths of at least three pregnant women in the United States in the past 13 years.

Ulbricht said the 147-bed hospital provides good care and that steps are being taken, such as more supervision, to ensure the error does not happen again.

A spokesman for the medical examiner’s office said the results of an autopsy on Elisha Bryant, who was a YMCA child-care worker, will take another four to six weeks.

Burnetti said a lawsuit against the hospital is possible and that his law firm is investigating the case. He said the hospital has been apologetic and cooperative.

Hospital Delivered Their 1st Child

Elisha Crews was a Durant High School student when she became pregnant the first time.

Tailor, who still cries out for her mother, had an uneventful birth at South Florida Baptist, her husband said. Preston Bryant said the couple made arrangements for the birth of their son at the same hospital.

He said he knew something was wrong shortly after the medication was administered and said at first he couldn’t get the staff to listen to his concerns. He was hustled from the room as her condition worsened.

Levi Bryant, taken by emergency Caesarean section, weighed 2 pounds, 10 ounces at birth and was 16 1/4 inches long. Bryant and his attorney would not say where the baby is hospitalized, but he is expected to require care for at least two more months.

“He’s not going to give up, and I’m not going to give up on him,” Preston Bryant said.

Sherry Crews described Elisha as a perfect daughter who didn’t smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs.

Crews said the death has turned her world upside down. “It’s been a nightmare.”

Reporter Ray Reyes and researcher Michael A. Messano contributed to this report. Contact Dave Nicholson at (813) 865-4432 or dnicholson@tampatrib.com.

---

Get Weekly Deals | Write a letter to the editor | Subscribe and get two weeks free | Place an Ad