Patients Died While in Restraints

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Two patients at a Pittsburgh hospital died while being held in restraints and the facility failed to properly and timely report the deaths to government agencies.
The incidents at UPMC Mercy were disclosed in an investigative report recently made public by the health agency.
The critical eight-page report states that in three of nine cases reviewed the patients were not being properly monitored.
UPMC officials did not respond to questions about the report. In one death case the hospital filed a report with a federal government agency indicating that the death occurred after the restraints were removed. Patient records, however showed the patient died while still in restraints.
The hospital filed a plan of correction in which they promised that staff involved with restraints would be re-educated on the proper use of restraints and the state and federal reporting requirements.
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