HospitalInspections.org

Based on observations, staff interview, review of equipment inventory inspections, and review of an equipment purchase order the hospital failed to maintain the safety integrity of hospital bed electrical control cords. This affected 10 of 50 hospital bed electrical control cords inspected. The hospital also failed to ensure food products were stored, used, or discarded within labeled expiration dates. This had the potential to affect all patients of the rehabilitation hospital who consumed hospital food, snacks, and drinks. The rehabilitation hospital census was 26.

Findings include:

1. On 04/21/15 from 9:30 AM through 12:30 PM a tour was conducted of the 7th and 8th floors occupied by the rehabilitation hospital in a 10 story medical mall (a former acute care hospital). Each of the two floors had 25 single rooms for a total of 50 beds. The census was 26 with 16 patients on the 8th floor and 10 patients on the 7th floor. Every room on both units, from patient rooms to storage rooms, was inspected.

Hospital beds with exposed electrical wires to the bed controls were found in rooms 703, 722, and 812. Hospital beds with electrical tape repairs on the electrical bed control cords were found in rooms 701, 702, 705, 723, and two beds in 814. A total of ten beds were identified with damaged integrity to the electrical control cords out of the available 50 hospital beds inspected.

Additional electrical equipment located on the two units were inspected for damaged and/or exposed wiring. The electrical equipment included five vital sign monitoring machines, four portables nursing computers, one EKG machine, and one Bladder Scan machine. The equipment was found to be in good operating condition with no damage or exposed wiring in the electrical cords.

The hospital's Director of Facilities stated the hospital bed control cords were where the side rail went up and down and the cords were getting worn from being pinched in the side rail. The Director of Facilities provided documentation revealing the beds were purchased on 11/13/04 and stated no additional beds had been purchased since 2004.

The Director of Facilities also provided the Electrical Equipment Inventory Inspections which included the last bed inspections done with an annual inspection dated May 2014. The contracted independent inspection classified all beds to be in safe working order as a result of that inspection.

2. The tour/observations included an inspection of a food storage room on each of the two units. On 04/21/15 at 11:30 AM the food storage room on the 8th floor was observed with a wall of various snack foods and non-refrigerated drinks stored on shelves and two full size residential refrigerators filled with individual single servings of milk, juice, yogurt, jell-o, and other cold snack items.

A refrigerated shelf of single serve milk cartons (approximately 30 milk cartons) were found expired 03/31/15 and still available for use on 04/21/15. Single serve containers of yogurt (approximately 12 containers) were also found expired 04/01/15 and still available for use on 04/21/15. Staff said they were aware of the expired products and were using them but could not explain why the products were still present in the food storage room.

On 04/21/15 at 11:45 AM the Director of Facilities stated there was no policy directing the process of stocking the food storage rooms, rotating food stock, or for pulling expired food products. The Director of Facilities added the food storage process had begun in December 2014 and was still an evolving process that needed written policy guidance.