Lewisburg Hospital Deficiencies Cited

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Lewisburg hospital has been cited by Pennsylvania health officials for multiple deficiencies including failing to comply with informed consent requirements in a dozen patient cases.
According to the report the informed consent forms were not signed and most had the notation "No signature due to Covid."
The report was the result of an inspection of the Evangelical Community Hospital to determine whether the 162-bed facility met the requirements for a state license.
Hospital officials did not respond to detailed questions about the deficiencies but issued a statement contending that "very few" deficiencies were cited.
"The hospital submitted its plans of correction for the deficiencies. They have been reviewed and accepted by the Department of Health. Those plans are currently being implemented within the outlined timeframe to adequately address the deficiencies noted," said Curtis Yeager an Evangelical associate vice president.
"It is not uncommon to be given direction by the state on ways to strengthen operations," he added.
Other citations in the state report include failure to properly monitor three patients who were placed in physical or chemical restraints and the failure of one staffer to maintain the proper certification.
The staffer, according to the report was not board certified in emergency medicine. The report also cites the hospital for deficiencies in its credentialing process.
Finally the state surveyors concluded that hospital staffers failed to follow facility policy regarding referrals to the organ donor program.
In one case the hospital paperwork failed to disclose what organ was being donated. The hospital did file a plan of correction with the state which included daily auditing program to ensure physical restraint monitoring requirements were met.
The plan also calls for improvements in the informed consent process and adherence to proper credentialing procedures.
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