An Ohio Planned Parenthood clinic has been fined $25,000 for health and safety violations, including failure to properly vet abortion doctors, follow infection control policies, and properly maintain surgical equipment, according to a report made public by Cleveland.com.
The Bedford Heights Planned Parenthood was notified of the fine in a 26-page notice from the Ohio Department of Health on July 30 after failing its March inspection. Violations include failing to properly vet doctors it allowed to perform abortions, test new employees for tuberculosis, conduct annual performance reviews of all staff, clean and disinfect surgical equipment, properly store “frozen [human] tissue,” dispose urine samples (many of which were found sitting around unlabeled throughout the clinic), and dispose single-use medical equipment and expired medical supplies, as well as improperly training staff in maintenance of medical and testing equipment.
The clinic also failed to post the phone number of the toll-free complaint hotline as mandated by state regulations, with one staff member admitting ignorance of the rule, and even asking the inspectors where such a number could be found. (RELATED: Planned Parenthood Has Abortion Quotas, Says Former Clinic Director)
According to the report, the clinic’s governing body was required to “grant or deny clinical (medical-surgical and anesthesia) privileges, in writing and reviewed or re-approved at least every twenty-four months, to physicians and other appropriately licensed or certified health care professionals based on documented peer advice and on recommendations from appropriate professional staff.” (RELATED: Abortion Activists Say Abortion Shouldn’t Be Rare)
“A review of the credentialing records for Staff Q, and for 2 of 3 other physicians (Staff R and S) who performed abortions in the facility during 2013, revealed no documentation related to competence in the performance of the procedures for which the physicians provided (surgical abortions),” the report reads. “Staff verified the facility did not use peer review of medical records, references, or data base query to determine physician competency prior to granting privileges to Staff R and S who performed abortions in the facility in 2013, or for Staff Q who was currently performing the surgical abortions on patients.”
The clinic also did not have a director of nursing (“an RN with experience in surgical and recovery room nursing care”) as mandated by state law, and hasn’t had one since September 2013. (RELATED: Colorado Attorney General To Investigate Planned Parenthood For Child Abuse Cover-Up)
The report also shows that the clinic failed to make sure one woman’s medical records were brought to the hospital where she was taken after complications arose during her abortion.
According to the report, 2,987 “surgical procedures” were performed at the clinic in the past year.
Along with unlabeled urine samples, inspectors also found an unused condoms in a surprising place: “Observation of the second examination table revealed clean rolls of paper that were used to cover the examination table for patient use and also observed was an unwrapped and extended condom. Staff stated the facility used condoms for ultrasound probe covers used during vaginal ultrasounds.”
“We’re deeply concerned, though admittedly unsurprised, that multiple abortion facilities are jeopardizing the lives and health of women,” said Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life. “The real war on women is being waged everyday in these unsafe and unsanitary abortion mills. These reports shock the conscience and reaffirm our resolve to protect life from Ohio’s abortion industry.”
The Bedford clinic is one of two Planned Parenthood centers in Ohio that performs abortions. According to the most recent data from the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute, 15% of Ohio pregnancies end in abortion. 28,590 abortions were performed in Ohio in 2011.
Planned Parenthood was not available for comment.