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Six months of inspections at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital: November 2023 to April

Inspectors found a violation related to blood transfusions was valid, but had been resolved before they arrived.

Health department inspectors visited the hospital three times for potential safety issues between November 2023 and April.
Health department inspectors visited the hospital three times for potential safety issues between November 2023 and April.Read moreAnton Klusener/ Staff illustration/ Getty Images

Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital retrained staff on responding to patients in need of major blood transfusions after being cited by the Pennsylvania health department in April for an issue related to its transfusion policy.

The incident was one of three times inspectors visited the Delaware County hospital between November 2023 and April.

Here’s a look at the publicly available details:

  1. Feb. 21: Inspectors conducted a mental health survey and found the hospital was in compliance.

  2. Mar. 28: Inspectors investigated a complaint and found it was valid, but the issue had been corrected before inspectors arrived. The incident related to the hospital’s blood transfusion policies. Inspectors did not detail the problem, because it had been resolved. Doctors and nurses were trained on rescreening patients, including rechecking their blood type, if they require a massive blood transfusion lasting more than 72 hours. Administrators also reviewed with staff the hospital’s Massive Transfusion Policy (MTP), which details how to respond when a patient needs a large amount of blood. Administrators agreed to hold MTP drills quarterly.

  3. Apr. 30: Inspectors cited the hospital for failing to have doctors who supervise trainees sign off on patient cases handled by medical residents within one day. An attending doctor had failed to sign off within the mandatory time frame in three of 10 cases reviewed.