Nine months of inspections at Holy Redeemer Hospital: February to October
The hospital was cited for improperly documenting a patient's pressure ulcer.
Holy Redeemer Hospital was cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for not following protocol for handling medications patients bring from home and documenting pressure ulcers.
The incidents were among five visits state health inspectors made to the Montgomery County hospital between February and October.
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
Feb. 15: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance. Complaint details are not made public when inspectors determine it was unfounded.
May 16: Inspectors cited the hospital for violating medication protocol. Inspectors found that a nurse had given a patient a prostate health supplement brought from the patient’s home, even though they could not verify the medication. Hospitals are only allowed to give patients medicines they bring from home after they have been verified by a staff pharmacist. The hospital updated its policies to better monitor patient medications coming from home and retrained staff on protocol for doing so.
Jun. 4: Inspectors cited the hospital for failing to properly document and report a patient’s pressure ulcer that developed during the patient’s stay. The hospital was also cited for failing to complete a patient’s personal belongings inventory before transferring them to another unit. The hospital updated its documentation policies to include a box that nurses check to indicate they evaluated patients’ skin for any changes. Administrators retrained staff on the personal valuables policy and agreed to monitor patient files for compliance.
Jun. 11: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Aug. 7: Inspectors followed up on the May complaint regarding medications patients bring from home, and found the hospital was in compliance.
Aug. 7: Inspectors followed up on the June complaint regarding documentation of patients’ personal belongings and changes in skin condition, and found the hospital was in compliance.
Sept. 10: Inspectors visited for a mental health monitoring survey and found the hospital was in compliance.
Pennsylvania Department of Health routinely inspects hospitals to ensure the facility is safe for patients and that staff are following all safety protocols. Inspectors may also visit when a hospital staff member or patient files a complaint.
Not all safety violations spark an on-site investigation from inspectors. Hospitals are required to self-report the most serious safety violations and often work directly with the state to address them. Complaint details are not made public when inspectors determine it was unfounded.
The Inquirer tracks publicly available hospital reports related to a complaint, special monitoring, and general safety inspections. The Inquirer does not track inspections for new equipment or occupancy surveys, unless problems are identified.
Inspection reports are publicly available online and are released 40 days after the report is completed.
The Inquirer is publishing roundups of state inspection reports for Pa. hospitals in our coverage area.
