Cardiac Monitor Turned Off at PA Hospital.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Nursing staff at a Pennsylvania hospital falsified records in an incident in which a patient who was supposed to be constantly monitored was found unresponsive several hours after the monitor was turned off.
The March incident at the Geisinger-Wyoming Valley Medical Center was only one of multiple deficiencies found by state Health Department surveyors at the 286 bed Wilkes Barre hospital in March. Also cited was the failure of the hospital to immediately notify the family of an accident victim who had been admitted to the hospital.
The inspectors declared a state of immediate jeopardy when they began the inspection at 2:30 p.m. on March 12. That forced hospital officials to immediately prepare a plan of correction. However, the first two plans were rejected as inadequate. An acceptable plan was submitted on the third try and the state of immediate jeopardy was lifted at 6:52 p.m.
The report faults the hospital and its administrators for failing to ensure a cardiac monitor was not turned off at a patient's bedside on March 5. The patient, identified as MR1, had been admitted the day before after suffering a fall at home.
In fact, the surveyors concluded, the hospital failed to properly monitor telemetry units for a total of 111 patients.
The review of hospital records showed the monitor on MR1 who had multiple cardiac problems went offline at 8:05 p.m. The patient was found unresponsive with no heart beat at 11 p.m. when a nurse went into the patient's room to administer medication.
Further records reviews showed the patient's medical record showed the patient had been checked at 8, 9 and 10 p.m.
"Employee 7 confirmed MR1's medical record was not accurate and contained misinformation," the report states.
"Records show the required rounding on MR1 was not performed," the report states.
In the case of the accident victim, state surveyors reported that the patient, who had been hit by a car, was brought to the hospital on Feb. 8. The identity of the unresponsive victim was confirmed later that day from a prescription bottle, but the patient's family was not notified until Feb. 11.
Other deficiencies cited included placing a combative patient in wrist and ankle restraints without first considering less restrictive alternatives.
Reviews of other records showed a medical staffer was re-appointed without performing required background checks.
The hospital filed a plan of correction which includes staff retraining and the implementation of a monitoring program to ensure compliance with state and federal standards. The hospital did not respond to a request for comment.
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