More Deaths in PA Vets Home.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Two more confirmed coronavirus deaths have been recorded at Pennsylvania run nursing homes for veterans and their spouses, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The two additional deaths come on top of 26 Covid-19 deaths at the Southeast Veterans Center previously reported by the Chester County Coroner's Office.
Joan Nissley, the spokeswoman for the state agency, said that a total of 45 residents of the homes have tested positive, including 17 who have died.
Nissley said that in addition to the new deaths, 36 employees at the six state run veterans homes have tested positive for the virus although 18 of them have recovered and returned to work.
The coroner's death totals are higher than those reported by the state because some of the deaths occurred after the nursing home patients had been transferred to other health care facilities.
The deaths have prompted calls for an investigation from Christina Vanderpol, the county coroner and state Sen Katie Muth.
State Auditor General Eugene Depasquale has called on the state agency to release more details on the deaths.
The deaths at a Pennsylvania veterans facility come as deadly outbreaks from the coronavirus have been reported in veterans nursing homes in several other states. In Massachusetts a state run veterans home in Holyoke has had 68 Covid-19 deaths. An additional 82 residents have tested positive for the virus.
Other state run veterans home hit hard by the virus include New Jersey, Washington state and Alabama.
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11 Victim Gap in State Vet Count

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Officials of the Pennsylvania agency that runs six nursing homes for veterans and their spouses has not reported all 26 of those coronavirus deaths apparently concluding that the reporting of 11 of those deaths are the responsibility of the hospitals where they finally died.
As of the end of last week Chester County Coroner Christina Vanderpol reported that 26 veterans residing at the Southeast Veterans Center had died from the Covid-19 virus.
At the same time officials of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs reported that only 15 veterans had died. The same figure was reported today by agency spokeswoman Joan Nissley.
Asked to explain the discrepancy, Nissley responded in an email* that "The facility where an individual dies is responsible for reporting the death. If a resident of a veterans home was transferred to a local hospital it would be the local hospital that would need to report the death."
Asked what veterans were included in the death counts issued by the agency over the past month, Nissley wrote,"We are counting our residents that have passed away at a veterans home or at a hospital that tested positive for Covid-19."
Asked whether some deceased veterans were being left out of the count, Nissley wrote, "The facility where the individual dies is responsible for reporting the death. If a resident of a veterans home was transferred to a local hospital it would be that local hospital that would need to report the death.
"With that said, we are reporting the number of veterans home residents that have passed away at a veterans home or at a hospital that tested positive for COVID-19," Nissley's email continued.
According to Nissley 33 staff members at the six veterans homes have tested positive and 14 of them have returned to work.
A total of 27 residents have tested positive, including the 15 who died, according to Nissley.

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PA Covid-19 Cases Stll Rising

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Cases of the coronavirus continue to rise in Pennsylvania with a new total of 41,165 victims, with many living in nursing homes or personal care homes.
State health officials disclosed today that an additional 1,116 new cases were reported since Saturday.
The department also provided a county by county breakdown of the numbers of cases reported from nursing homes and personal care facilities. The report does not identify the specific nursing homes.
Montgomery County in suburban Philadelphia had the highest total coming from the long term care facilities.
Overall the state has reported 6,812 cases of Covid-19 among residents of nursing homes and personal care facilities. In addition 822 employees of those 431 facilities also have tested positive. A total of 952 deaths of patients occurred in those long term facilities. Those deaths account for more than half of the state's overall Covid-19 death toll, 1550
The county breakdown shows a total of 1,182 Covid-19 victims were residing at 72 different Montgomery County facilities. Thirty-two employee at those facilities also tested positive for the disease. The report shows there were 168 deaths.
In neighboring Philadelphia 1,115 patients tested positive along with four employees of the 50 long term care facilities. According to the report 91 deaths were reported from the Philadelphia facilities.

At the opposite end of the state Allegheny county reported 254 residents of 32 long term facilities were sickened along with 82 employees. There were 52 deaths.
In Lancaster County 361 long term care patients were sickened with the virus along with 78 employees. There were 57 deaths.
Bucks County facilities reported 518 patients were infected along with 91 employees from a total of 43 facilities. There were 42 deaths.
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Another PA Vet Dies in Pandemic

By Walter F. Roche

Another Pennsylvania veteran living in a state run veterans nursing home has passed away from the coronavirus pushing the total of deaths in the six facility system to 15.
New data released by the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs also show 31 employees at the state facilities have tested positive for Covid-19.
Twenty-three residents, including the 15 who died, also tested positive, according to Joan Nissley, spokeswoman for the agency.
Though the agency declined to disclose the exact facilities where the Covid-19 deaths occurred, the majority of the deaths were reported at the 238-bed Southeastern Veterans Center in Spring City Chester County.
Other state veterans nursing home facilities are located in Erie, Pittsburgh, Hollidaysburg, Scranton and Philadelphia.
State run nursing homes for veterans in other states have shown high numbers of Covid-19 deaths. Those include Massachusetts, New Jersey and Alabama.
Data from U.S. Veterans Administration shows large numbers of veterans have died from the virus in several geographic areas including Southeastern Louisiana where 33 deaths were reported among 455 veterans who tested positive for Covid-19. In East Orange, N.J. 44 veterans died from among 425 who tested positive. In the Bronx, N.Y. 439 veterans tested positive and 45 of them died.
The pandemic has hit not only nursing homes for veterans but nursing homes all over the country though some state officials have declined to give specifics.
Tennessee health officials, responding to media requests, today made public the names of nursing homes where patients diagnosed with Covid-19 and the number of those patients who died.
The list includes a facility once run by the city of Nashville, Nashville Community Care and Rehabilitation at Bordeaux, where 25 patients tested positive for the virus. The Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing reported that 161 patients were infected by the virus and 21 died.
According to the report some 478 patients at 25 Tennessee nursing homes tested positive for Covid-19 and 44 of those patients have died.

Einstein Exceeded Patient Limits

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Montgomery County hospital has been cited by state regulators for exceeding the licensed patient limits in a neonatal intensive care unit for a second time.
The Albert Einstein Medical Center in East Norriton also was faulted for failing to adhere to its own previously approved plan of correction after being cited for the same violation, exceeding the patient limits.
"It was determined the facility failed to correct its deficient practice based on the Plan of Correction as submitted by the facility and approved last year," the report states.
Details of the violations were spelled out in a state Health Department report dated March 6 and made public this week by the state agency.
According to the report the neo-natal unit was licensed for a maximum of nine patients and under the previously approved plan of correction the facility was required to implement a plan to transfer any excess patients to an adequate level of care "until such time as a transfer can occur."
In three of three cases reviewed by a state surveyor Einstein failed to transfer neonatal patients to "an appropriate level of care."
In a new plan of correction filed by Einstein, the hospital said it would implement an expansion plan to accommodate additional patients.
The plan calls for the NICU capacity to be increased from nine to 13 patients. The plan calls for the expansion to be completed by June 30.
Einstein officials did not respond to questions about the current status of the expansion.
The hospital's plan of correction also calls for re-education of staff members and an audit program to ensure compliance.
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State Hospital Patients Isolated

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Twenty-one patients at the Norristown State Hospital who have tested positive for the coronavirus have been placed in isolation units, according to a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania agency that oversees the state hospital system.
Erin James, the spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, said the isolated patients at the state psychiatric facility are provided with "medical care that supports their recovery."
She said that if necessary the ailing patients are subsequently transferred to an area general hospital for more intensive treatment.
The spokeswoman said hospital personnel caring for the infected patients are provided with personal protective gear as recommended by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Health Department.
The state reported this week that 21 Norristown patients and 67 hospital employees have tested positive for the deadly virus. The number of infected patients jumped by two over the past 24 hours. The facility has 343 patients and 776 employees.
Several employees at the facility have complained about the lack of protection from the disease and the failure of the facility leaders to provide adequate and up to date information on the pandemic's impact at the Montgomery County facility.
Meanwhile officials of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs reported no new Covid-19 deaths at the six veterans nursing homes run by the agency. However two more staffers have tested positive, pushing the total to 29.
One additional resident at the homes also tested positive pushing the total to 22. Most of the resident victims reside at the Southeastern Veterans Center in Montgomery County. Most of the deaths in the state veterans centers occurred at that same facility.
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Patients, Staff Test Positive at PA State Hospital

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Nineteen patients and 67 staffers at the Norristown State Hospital have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to data from the state Department of Human Services.
The facility, located in Montgomery County west of Philadelphia, is one of three state hospitals with COVID-19 cases.
The disclosure comes amid growing protests by the employees of Norristown facilities about the failure to protect employees and advise them of infection risks.
According to the report, 19 patients out of the 341 at the facility and 67 employees out of 776 have tested positive. The hospital serves as a long term psychiatric treatment facility.
At the Wernersville State Hospital in Berks County seven of the 262 current patients have tested positive, while 13 of the 580 employees have tested positive to the coronavirus. At Torrance State Hospital in Westmoreland County one staffer has tested positive, according to DHS data.
The agency reported that at other facilities under its supervision, including the division of youth services, no positive COVID-19 test results have been recorded.
A DHS spokeswoman said the agency has yet to compile the infection data at human services providers under contract with the state.
Meanwhile the death toll inched upward at six state veterans homes in Pennsylvania. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs said two additional deaths pushed the total to 14. Most of those deaths occurred at the Southeastern Veterans Center in Chester County.
She said 27 staffers have tested positive as have 21 residents.
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National Guard at PA Vets Home

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Some 34 National Guardsmen are on duty assisting staff at a Pennsylvania run nursing home for veterans, where multiple deaths from the coronavirus have been recorded.
Joan Nissley, spokeswoman for the state Department of Military and Veterans, said some of the guardsmen were working as certified nursing assistants, while others were providing housekeeping and recreational services.
Nissley also said that the official death toll at the facility in Chester County remained at nine, despite reports that a tenth resident had died.
The Southeastern Veterans Center is one of six veterans homes run by the state agency providing care to some 1,300 veterans and their wives. She said that system-wide, 23 employees have tested positive for COVID-19, along with 16 residents.
All six are licensed as nursing homes and undergo regular inspections by surveyors from the state Department of Health. In the most recent inspections, no deficiencies were reported at the Chester County home, but in a report last Fall the facility was cited for failing to provide adequate care to a patient suffering from severe bed sores.
The patient, according to the report, had to be hospitalized and underwent surgery.
Nissley noted that her agency also houses the Pennsylvania National Guard and guardsmen have provided assistance at the veterans homes in the past.
"We are fortunate to once again use the unique skill sets of our Guard members to alleviate some of the intense demands on the homes’ staff during the COVID-19 pandemic," Nissley said.
Noting that residents in the state homes are elderly and many suffer from multiple ailments "which make them particularly susceptible to coronavirus."
"We continue to be vigilant in our infection prevention and control plans and remain dedicated in doing everything we can to stop the spread of this virus," Nissley concluded.
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10 From PA Vet Home Die.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Ten residents at a Pennsylvania veterans home have died from Covid-19, according to officials of the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Records show all 10 died at the Southeastern Veterans Center in Chester County.
The deaths occurred despite renewed and updated efforts at infection control at the six facilities which stretch from Erie to Chester County.
Previously the state agency had reported five residents and one employee had tested positive for the virus at the facility. They also reported an employee at a sister facility in Pittsburgh, the Southwestern Veterans Center, had tested positive for the coronavirus.
In addition, according to agency spokeswoman Joan Nissley, systemwide, 16 residents and 22 staffers at all six facilities have tested positive for the virus.
Other states have reported much higher numbers of deaths and infections in similar veteran facilities. Massachusetts has reported that 44 died at a single facility in Holyoke.
"When the concerns over COVID-19 first surfaced, staff at our six veterans’ homes reviewed and updated infection prevention and control plans in preparation for a possible outbreak," Nissley said in an email response to questions.
She said the agency also implemented heightened safety measures including restricting visitors, cancelling outings, discontinuing group activities, ceasing the use of volunteers, conducting daily health screenings for employees, and putting new admissions on hold.
"Our highest priority is the health and safety of our staff and the residents we serve," Nissley said.

Nine Die in Pa Vet Homes

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Nine residents at Pennsylvania's veterans home have died from Covid-19, according to officials of the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The deaths occurred despite renewed and updated efforts at infection control at the six facilities which stretch from Erie to Chester County.
In addition, according to agency spokeswoman Joan Nissley, 16 residents and 22 staffers at the facilities have tested positive for the virus.
Other states have reported much higher numbers of deaths and infections in similar veteran facilities. Massachusetts has reported that 44 died at a single facility in Holyoke.
"When the concerns over COVID-19 first surfaced, staff at our six veterans’ homes reviewed and updated infection prevention and control plans in preparation for a possible outbreak, " Nissley said in an email response to questions.
She said the agency also implemented heightened safety measures including restricting visitors, cancelling outings, discontinuing group activities, ceasing the use of volunteers, conducting daily health screenings for employees, and putting new admissions on hold.
"Our highest priority is the health and safety of our staff and the residents we serve," Nissley said.

Compounding Rules Eased for Covid-19

Thursday, April 16, 2020
FDA Moves to Ease Covid-19 Drug Shortages

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency advisory indicating it will, in effect, temporarily ease requirements for drug compounding firms to produce drugs being used to treat victims of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a 16-page document, known technically as a "guidance," the FDA said it does not intend to enforce restrictions that currently bar drug compounders from producing drugs that are not on an official drug shortage list.
Citing complaints from hospitals and other providers that drugs needed to treat Covid-19 patients are not available, the guidance states that it does not intend to enforce the existing restrictions for some 13 drug products including midazolam, fentanyl citrate, lorazepam and verconium bromide.
"In light of the unprecedented disruption to, and demands on the global pharmaceutical supply chain as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, additional flexibility is needed to ensure that treatment options are available when hospitals are unable to obtain FDA approved drugs," the guidance states.
The guidance applies to a new class of drug makers known as outsourcers created in legislation passed by Congress in response to the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Citing the ongoing health emergency, the FDA said it was issuing the new guidance without first seeking public comment, which is the normal process.
Stating the the drugs in question were needed to in-tubate hospitalized Covid-19 patients, the guidance states that the relaxed enforcement policy will only remain in effect during the current public health emergency.
The guidance does set some minimum requirements drug compounders must meet in producing the Covid-19 drugs relating to beyond use dates and stability testing.
The drugs also must be provided directly to a hospital.
Ironically some of the drugs now on short supply for Covid-19 patients are also used by states like Tennessee in the execution of prisoners on death row. Those include midazolam and vercuronium bromide.
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State Vets Homes Hard Hit

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

In a Florida veterans home nine residents tested positive, one of them died, while on Long Island 40 were sickened and seven died. In Holyoke, Mass. 25 veterans died, all victims of coronavirus.
But they weren't all only just veterans they were residents of state run veterans homes and like elderly residents in nursing homes across the country they are dying in increasing numbers from the ongoing pandemic.
The deaths at Massachusetts veterans home has prompted state Attorney General Maura Healey to launch an investigation. The home's superintendent was fired.
State veterans homes, which are not part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, are generally funded by state governments, though Maine's homes are run by a private corporation.
Other hard hit state programs include New Jersey where 10 deaths have been reported at a Paramus facility. A second Massachusetts veterans home has had three deaths and Oregon has had three deaths.
Still other state veterans health facilities reporting either covid-19 infections or covid deaths or both include Oregon, Maine, Washington, California and Alabama.
Experts attribute the high incidence of covid-19 in nursing homes to the vulnerability of the residents and the highly contagious nature of the virus.
One recently released study found that the covid-19 incidence was not as severe in other types of facilities for the elderly including an assisted facility.
The study made public today cited statistics from an assisted living facility and a senior independent living center in Seattle.
Citing the "rapid spread and high morbidity" with covid-19, two deaths were reported at the facilities during the study period."
Noting that the results differed markedly from data at skilled nursing facilities in the same area, the study found that the residents of the independent living and assisted living facility "do not live as closely together" and do not require skilled nursing care.
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2 PA Vet Homes Report Covid-19 Cases

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Two Pennsylvania veterans homes at opposite ends of the state have been hit with coronavirus, but four others have so far avoided the pandemic.
According to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, five residents and one staffer at the Southeastern Veterans Center in Chester County have tested positive for Covoid-19.
At the Southwestern Veterans Center in Pittsburgh one staffer tested positive, according to Joan Nissley, the agency spokeswoman.
She said there have been no deaths from the virus.
"Our homes have – and will continue – to report positive test results to county, state, and federal public health officials in accordance with CDC guidelines and are ensuring follow-up protocols are accomplished," Nissley said.
Veterans nursing homes in other states have been much harder hit where deaths have been reported at two facilities. Some 25 deaths were recorded at a veterans home in Holyoke, while five were reported at the soldiers home in Chelsea.
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No Covid 19 Data on Troubled City Home

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Philadelphia health department officials are refusing to release information on the number of Covid-19 cases at the city owned 402-bed nursing home, a facility with a long list of complaints and deficiencies.
Requests for data on the number of coronavirus cases and any subsequent deaths at the Philadelphia Nursing Home were denied this week with health department officials citing a 65-year-old law, the Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955.
The refusals continued even after Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley voluntarily released data on the number of coronavirus cases in the city prison system.
"Those are two different situations," health department spokesman James Garrow wrote in response to the second request. "We’ve stated in the past that we are not releasing information on the disease or any cases that may happen in nursing homes."
A review of state Health Department inspection reports on the city facility show a history of multiple complaints and deficiencies including the most recent in which a wheelchair bound patient suffered serious injuries, including multiple jaw fractures, in an altercation with a roommate.
The facility was cited for failing to immediately report the incident to the Pennsylvania Department of Aging and local police.
Though the incident occurred on Aug. 10 of last year, it didn't become public until state health department surveyors visited the facility on Jan. 23 of this year.
In a plan of correction nursing home officials promised a re-education program for staffers and an auditing program to monitor compliance.
The reports show four complaints were filed against the home since January but state surveyors concluded there were no deficiencies.
But multiple deficiencies were found in an annual license inspection at the facility in a report dated Oct. 29 of last year.
Violations included mishandling of drugs, food and other sanitary violations. Records showed a refrigerator storing drugs was out of proper temperature range on multiple occasions.
The records showed a female patient continued to receive a drug which emergency physicians at a local hospital had warned the nursing home to discontinue.
After her second trip to the emergency room for a bleeding incident, the hospital sent back a plea.
"Please stop taking your blood thinner medications. This was supposed to be discontinued on your last discharge," a hospital physician wrote.
"The facility failed to provide resident with treatment and care in accordance with professional standards and practice," according to the state inspection report.
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Fed, State Rules Ignored in Mass Transfers

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Some 300 Massachusetts nursing home patients were being rushed to new facilities without notice despite state and federal requirements that so-called involuntary transfers from nursing homes be limited to specific circumstances and that patients be given notice of their right to an appeal.
So far the mass transfers have been announced for two nursing homes, one in Worcester, the other in Wilmington. But state officials have made it clear they are intent on expanding the program to provide some 1,000 beds for patients recovering from Covid-19.
Massachusetts regulations regarding so called involuntary transfers and discharges state, ". A facility may not discharge or transfer a resident "unless the resident or appropriate representative consented in writing to the discharge or transfer."
Federal regulations set only six justifications including the patient no longer requires the level of care provided or the facility cannot provide the necessary level of care. In addition is the patient files an appeal the transfer must be put on hold.
The transfer of 147 patients at Beaumont at University Place in Worcester was first disclosed a week ago and by early this week Beaumont patients were being transferred to other nursing homes owned by Salmon Health Care, the owner of Beaumont.
The transfers were interrupted only when it was discovered that several of the current residents already were infected with Covid-19.
Beaumont patients and their representatives only learned of the imminent transfers a week ago in a facebook post by the Salmon's, chief executive officer, Matthew Salmon.
Interviews with relatives of the Beaumont patients show none were informed individually for the transfer nor were they given a medical justification, as required.
An additional 142 patients at the Advinia Care in Wilmington also have been targeted for transfer to other homes owned by the home's parent, Pointe Group Care. That move was also put on hold today after many patients also tested positive for covid-19 despite showing no symptoms.
Questions posed to both companies about compliance with the state and federal involuntary transfer requirements went unanswered.
Massachusetts officials, including aides to Baker, also did not respond to a series of questions about involuntary transfer rules.
The rushed transfers and the manner in which they were disclosed has prompted protests from the families of current and former patients at the two facilities.
Rev. Megan Leary, who had two grandparents at the facility for several years said the way the transfers were implemented was "unethical at best."
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A nursing home is allowed to involuntarily transfer or discharge your loved one only under the following six specific conditions.

The facility cannot meet the resident’s needs, therefore the move is necessary for his/her welfare.

The resident no longer needs nursing facility services due to improved health.

The resident’s presence endangers the safety of residents and others in the facility.

The resident’s presence endangers the health of residents and others in the facility.

After reasonable and appropriate notice, the resident has failed to pay for living in the facility.

The facility is closing.

nursing home typically must provide notice of transfer or discharge in writing at least 30 days before the proposed transfer/discharge. However, notice can be given “as soon as practicable” in the following situations:

The resident has lived in the facility for less than 30 days.

The resident’s improved condition allows for a more immediate transfer or discharge.

The resident’s urgent medical needs cannot be met in the facility (for example, an emergency transfer to the hospital).

The health or safety of others in the facility is endangered.

The transfer/discharge notice must be given to the resident, resident representative, and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. The notice must include:

Reason for the transfer/discharge.

Proposed effective date.

Location to which the resident will be transferred or discharged.

Information on appeal rights.

Contact information for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and (if applicable) agencies responsible for advocacy on behalf of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or persons with mental disorders.

Documentation needs to be provided from a physician if the transfer/discharge is related to either the resident’s health, or the health/safety of other residents.

To help prevent a nursing home’s inclination to transfer residents perceived as being difficult or “heavy care”, but whose care needs fall within the level of services required by Federal law, the resident’s physician must document:

Specific need(s) that the facility allegedly cannot meet.

Attempts by the facility to meet the need(s).

Services available at the receiving facility that supposedly will meet the need(s).

2nd Massachusetts Facility to Get Covid-19 Patients

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Massachusetts officials have designated a second nursing home to serve exclusively as a treatment center for coronavirus victims, forcing the relocation of some 142 current patients at the Wilmington facility.
The selection of Advinia Care was disclosed this week by the nursing home's parent company, Pointe Group Care. Campaign finance records show officers and employees of Pointe Group have donated $4,500 to Massachsuetts Gov. Charles Baker's campaign committee.
The other nursing home selected for the care of covid-19 victims in Massachusetts, Beaumont Nursing and Rehabilitation in Worcester, is owned by the Salmon Health and Retirement. Members of the Salmon family and employees of its nursing homes have donated over $20,000 to the campaign committees of Baker and Lt.Gov. Karyn Polito.
State officials have defended the unusual arrangements contending it is necessary to treat covid-19 patients separately to avoid having additional patients infected.
Relatives of current and former patients at Beaumont have protested the action contending the shift in location will be especially disruptive for a frail population, many suffering from dementia.
Rev. Megan Leary, whose grandparents lived at Beaumont for several years, said she was particularly troubled by the fact that the transfers were announced at the last minute by Matthew Salmon, the company's chief executive, on a facebook page.
Calling that move "unethical at best," Leary said there was apparently no effort to contact patients or their family members individually.
In a related development, the transfer of the Beaumont patients has been delayed because several of the current patients turned out to be already infected with covid-19. The current patients are being transferred to other Salmon facilities.
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Jefferson Cited for Psych Unit

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

State health investigators have cited Thomas Jefferson University Hospital for a series of violations of state and federal requirements in a two-floor locked psychiatric unit.
In a report recently made public surveyors from the Pennsylvania Health Department found the hospital unit "failed to maintain a safe and sanitary environment."
Among the items cited were multiple ligature risks including electrical cords and unprotected hardware.
Still other risks included wall vents with sharp blades which had been cited in prior inspections of the same facility.
The surveyors also found that the facility failed to respond to a patient grievance and even failed to include a cope of the complaint in the patient's record.
In a plan of correction the hospital said work was already in progress to eliminate the ligature risks. The hospital also reviewed policy for the handling of grievances and revised the policy.
The hospital also promised to conduct audits to ensure the revised policy is being followed.
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