Nine months of inspections at Jefferson Abington Hospital: April to November 2024
The hospital was cited three times for its security guards overstepping their authority.
Jefferson Abington Hospital was cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for security guards overstepping their authority when interacting with patients three times last year.
The incidents were among a dozen times inspectors visited the Montgomery County hospital to investigate potential safety problems.
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
April 23: 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.
April 30: Inspectors cited the hospital for sanitation issues, including a trail of brown spots on the floor leading from a patient room into the hallway, a used glove and empty apple juice container on the floor of a patient room, and tissues, a syringe wrapper, and trash on the floor in the hallway.
May 16: Inspectors cited the hospital with its most serious warning, immediate jeopardy, for a security guard’s use of excessive force against a patient. Inspectors found that a security guard had acted outside their authority when they approached a behavioral health patient in the emergency department who was walking down the hallway, naked beneath a blanket, and wrestled her to the ground. Administrators updated policies to make clear that clinical staff are responsible for patients and for requesting help from security if they need it. The hospital retrained staff on use of force, to clarify that physical altercations are a last resort for keeping patients from hurting themselves or others.
July 9: Inspectors followed up on a March 2024 complaint and found the hospital was in compliance. The hospital had been cited for failing to identify fall risks after a patient was found on the floor after falling.
July 10: Inspectors cited the hospital for failing to report an incident in June when a patient experiencing a mental health crisis left against medical advice and a security guard overstepped their authority. A patient, who was involuntarily committed for mental health treatment, ran away from the hospital. Local police officers and a hospital security guard stopped the patient near the hospital. When the patient attempted to lash out at a police officer, the hospital security guards “physically engaged” with the patient. Under hospital policy, security guards can only “physically engage” with patients on hospital property. Administrators retrained staff on serious event reporting requirements and on security’s “keeping eyes on” policy for monitoring patients who leave campus against medical advice, but allowing local police to interact with them.
July 10: Inspectors cited the hospital for failing to provide adequate oversight of its security department after a May 10 incident in which a security guard handcuffed a patient on suicide watch who ran away from the hospital. The hospital updated its restraint policy to make clear that weapons cannot be used to subdue a patient. It also updated policies restricting the use of chemical sprays, batons, handcuffs, and Tasers, and required security staff to return all hospital-issued tools.
Aug. 12: Inspectors followed up on a March 2024 complaint and found the hospital in compliance. The hospital had been cited for loose power cords for virtual monitor screens that inspectors said posed a strangulation risk in behavioral health patient rooms.
Aug. 29: Inspectors came for a monitoring survey and found that the hospital had not been in compliance regarding an incident on May 21, but had fixed the problem before inspectors arrived. The report does not provide details about the problem, but says it was related to a state policy that outlines qualification requirements for surgeons and rules about when they can have an assistant. The hospital’s plan of correction included revising responsibilities for the “code leader,” the medical professional who is responsible for leading the team that responds to cardiac and respiratory emergencies at the hospital. Administrators also updated policies about hemoglobin testing and educated staff on blood transfusions.
Aug. 29: Inspectors followed up on the April sanitation citation and the July citation regarding security guards using handcuffs on a patient, and found the hospital in compliance.
Oct. 11: Inspectors followed up on the May citation regarding excessive force against a patient and found the hospital was in compliance. Inspectors also investigated a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Oct. 15: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Oct. 21: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Oct. 24: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Oct. 29: Inspectors conducted an occupancy survey of the trauma center’s waiting room and found the hospital was not in compliance, but did not provide details. Inspectors also investigated a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.