Pediatric Hospital Cited for Multiple Lapses

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Philadelphia pediatric hospital failed to report 184 patient safety issues to state officials as required and also failed to timely inform patients' families of adverse events affecting their children.
The multiple lapses were listed in a report on the 189-bed Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children recently made public by the state Health Department.
Officials of the hospital, which recently underwent a change of ownership, also failed to file a plan of correction in response to the critical state report. Hospital officials did not respond to requests for comment.
St. Christopher's was recently sold out of bankruptcy for $50 million to Tower Health and Drexel University.
In yet another finding, state surveyors found that the hospital allowed a staffer, whose license had expired, to treat 11 cardiac cases. The staffer's license expired on Dec. 21, 2018 and was not renewed until Aug. 2, 2019. The report does not disclose what kind of license was involved.
The state also found major lapses in mandated quality improvement plans and a failure to conduct focused reviews of adverse events.
The hospital failed to report nine cases in which patients suffered pressure injuries within the required 24-hour time limit, according to the report.
The facility failed to report the 184 patient safety issues to the state Patient Safety Authority. In addition the hospital failed to inform families in three cases of a serious event within 24 hours of its occurrence.
When state surveyors questioned a hospital employee about the multiple issues, they were told that the hospital was in bankruptcy and there was not enough money.
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