Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Medical Center identified contaminated equipment as the source of Pseudomonas bacteria that killed three infants and sickened five others in its neonatal intensive care unit this fall, reports The Daily Item.
The hospital's infection control team used DNA testing to trace the bacteria back to equipment used to measure donor breast milk. The Pennsylvania Department of Health visited Geisinger Oct. 18 and cited the hospital for not having a written policy to clean this equipment.
"We immediately corrected the citation and drafted a new policy," Edward Hartle, MD, executive vice president and CMO at Geisinger, said in a statement cited by The Daily Item.
Geisinger is still transferring premature infants and women expected to give birth before 32 weeks to other hospitals as a precaution. The hospital is working with health officials to determine an appropriate time to resume normal operations, according to Dr. Hartle.
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