Beth Israel safety lapses raise concern among state regulators

Ordinarily, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has a sterling reputation for appropriate care. However, some cleanliness concerns raised  by a recent state inspection may have lowered that reputation just a hair.

A new state inspection concluded that there were many violations of safety procedures in place, including poor methods for disinfecting a nursery, a lack of training on how to transfuse babies and re-use of otherwise sterile instruments. These, and other quality and safety lapses, turned up recently when a cluster of bacterial infections occurred among mothers and newborns who'd been treated at the Harvard-affiliated medical center.

Since the investigation triggered by the infections, the hospital has set plans to require all doctors, nurses and other healtlhcare workers to complete lessons on infection control by May 1.

To learn more about this issue:
- read this article from The Boston Globe

Related Articles:
MA hospital-acquired infections cost millions
Hospitals using IT surveillance to track infections
Beth Israel faces questions on surgical resident work schedules