Geisinger Facility Cited Again

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

When state inspectors visited a Scranton hospital in August they observed staffers assigned to constantly monitor patients in a mental health unit chatting among themselves and talking on their cell phones.
In addition a search of records showed another patient in the unit who was supposed to be under one-to-one monitoring was not immediately assigned a watcher. The patient had spoken about jumping off a bridge and was considered a suicide risk.
"The facility failed to ensure a staff member was performing a patient required one-to-one direct visual examination," the report states.
The recent visit to the Geisinger Community Medical Center was not the first in which state surveyors found violations of minimum state and federal standards. The same 279 bed facility was cited recently for failure to properly investigate an incident in which a patient was burned during surgery.
A Geisinger facility in Wilkes Barre also has been the subject of multiple critical reports.
In the 13-page Aug. 27 report on the Scranton facility, the surveyors also found ceiling vents that could be used in a suicide attempt and a plastic bag that also could accommodate a suicide effort.
The facility failed to ensure care in a safe environment," the report states.
In a plan of correction filed in response to the critical report, Geisinger officials agreed to quickly replace the ceiling vents and remedy other possible suicide risks.
The hospital also initiated a re-education program for workers in the behavioral unit and barred the use of personal cell phones while on duty.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com