Waynesburg hospital found to be compliant with state regulations
A Waynesburg hospital being sued in federal court by a former employee alleging patient care violations says an unannounced inspection by the state Department of Health last month revealed that the hospital is in compliance with the department’s rules and regulations.
Marie Gillispie indicated in the civil suit filed Oct. 22 that she was unfairly terminated from Southwest Regional Medical Center because she insisted that multiple incidents involving alleged improper patient care — including one case in which a patient died — should be reported to the proper DOH authorities.
Joy Eggleston, Senior Public Affairs Officer for Southwest Regional Medical Center, released a statement Monday saying representatives from the DOH conducted the unannounced visit on Nov. 1 and conducted a thorough inspection and analysis of care provided at the hospital.
“Three DOH inspectors poured over patient and personnel charts relevant to the allegations,” Eggleston wrote. “The investigation revealed the allegations to have been misplaced and unwarranted.”
“The complaint, as evidenced by the findings of the DOH, among other sources, is groundless and will be vigorously defended by the hospital,” she added.
Eggleston quoted Dr. Jami Diamond Boris, Chief Medical Officer, as saying, “Southwest Regional Medical Center remains committed to providing quality healthcare for the community.
“These are serious allegations, and we will vigorously defend the good work we do every day. The Department of Health visit was the first of many steps, which will provide our community the assurance it deserves.
“The DOH report, which completely exonerated the Medical Center of any non-compliance issues, paves the way for us to move forward with continuing to provide quality healthcare for our community.”
As of Wednesday, the defendants named in Gillispie’s suit, which include the hospital and corporate ownership entities Essent Healthcare, Essent Healthcare Inc., Essent Healthcare-Pennsylvania Inc., Essent Healthcare-Waynesburg LLC and RegionalCare Hospital Partners Inc., have not yet filed a response to the complaint.