The Pennsylvania Department of Health identified violations in the administration of painkillers and monitoring of medicated patients at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg in Bethlehem during a February investigation, according to a report from The Morning Call.
Here are five things to know.
1. Eighty-seven-year-old Letizia Mill, who received cancer surgery at LVH-Muhlenberg last year, told The Morning Call she overdosed at the hospital Sept. 22 after being hooked up to a machine that pumped the powerful opioid Dilaudid into her body post-surgery. She said she was revived with Narcan and CPR.
2. Mill's son told the publication he filed a complaint with the state after the incident. The health department told The Morning Call a complaint triggered their investigation, but would not confirm if the complaint involved Ms. Mills.
3. The health department found hospital staff regularly failed to check the breathing patterns and vital signs of patients medicated with opioids in three of the four medical records examined by investigators.
4. Corrective actions issued to Lehigh Valley Health Network by the state included revising policy regarding the documentation of medicated patients' consciousness and reeducating nurses to check and document vital signs.
5. Brian Downs, a spokesperson with Lehigh Valley Health Network, would not discuss the health department's findings or the specifics of Ms. Mill's case with The Morning Call.
"We want to emphasize how open, honest and transparent we have been with Ms. Mill and her family right from the start," Mr. Downs told the publication. "We apologized for what happened and assured them that the necessary follow-up care was provided to achieve the best outcome for her. We also cooperated fully with the department of health to ensure that proper documentation of information would take place moving forward."
To read the full report, click here.
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