State health officials cited Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center for failing to immediately report a patient safety incident involving an infant with a fractured arm, according to a Lancaster Online report published Friday.
The news follows reports earlier this week of the state citing Hershey Medical Center for multiple infractions linked to the death of a six-year-old patient. The newest incident occurred April 16, just days after Pennsylvania Department of Health investigators visited the facility to investigate the patient death.
Here are four things to know.
1. The incident involved an infant with a fractured arm. After discovering the injury, the infant's family requested that a nurse they described as being "rough with patients" not care for the child anymore.
2. While the hospital is required to immediately report such an incident to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, it did not file a report until April 28, according to Lancaster Online.
3. After the second incident, the hospital was cited for delaying to report a case of potential child abuse to authorities. In response, the hospital outlined a plan of correction, which included requiring all neonatal intensive care unit workers to complete an educational course within 30 days. The hospital also issued a safety alert stressing the importance of timely patient safety event reporting.
4. Hershey Medical Center provided Becker's with a statetment regarding the second incident.
"This was not a case of abuse," said the hospital. "At the time of the citation from DOH, our clinical care and leadership teams were in the midst of an internal review of the case, a review that determined that the injury was not caused by staff nor was it a case of abuse, but likely an accidental injury caused by routine handling of a delicate infant."
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