|
BY GRETCHEN KEISER
Staff Writer
ATLANTA--Midtown Hospital, Georgia’s largest abortion provider, was
shut down in late May after the state documented conditions there which shocked
inspectors and revealed women patients were being treated in unsanitary,
overcrowded, poorly staffed and dangerous conditions.
Affidavits filed by the state to obtain a court order to close the abortion
facility at 144 Ponce de Leon Ave. include reports from two 1998 patients and
several former employees, in addition to lengthy, detailed reports by the
Department of Human Resources (DHR).
An affidavit from a 31-year-old College Park woman said when she went for an
abortion Feb. 21, 1998 conditions were so crowded women were lying on the floor
and on chairs after labor had been induced, screaming in pain without any
monitoring by staff. One woman gave birth in a bathroom that day, according to
the affidavit.
The College Park woman, who was there from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m., said blood
and urine were everywhere and staff stepped over patients lying on the floor.
“Some of the girls appeared so traumatized they got up and left,”
according to the affidavit. “As the staff began calling names, patients
that were still there would say that they’ve gone. One nurse responded,
‘They didn’t get their money back.’”
“It was the worst experience of my life and it was so bad it was beyond
belief,” the patient affidavit said. “I have terrible dreams about
the whole experience.”
The other affidavit was from an Atlanta woman who went to Midtown for an
abortion April 16, 1998 and had to be admitted to Grady Hospital several days
later on an emergency basis after suffering severe pain, bleeding and vomiting.
At Grady she was diagnosed as having had an incomplete abortion, according to
the affidavit, and underwent surgery.
An affidavit from a former employee who worked at Midtown Hospital from
November 1996 to February 1998 said, “I routinely saw patients expel
fetuses on the floor and in the commode in the preoperative room. Patients
expelled fetuses in front of other patients that were awaiting procedures.
Patients expelled fetuses in commodes that were used by other patients.
Patients would leave the preoperative room looking for nurses and come into the
discharge area where I would assist them into one of the two bathrooms in that
area. I regularly observed patients expel fetuses in the commode in the
discharge area. I saw a fetus that had a foot as long as my hand. I saw another
fetus with a full head of hair. Oftentimes, I was the only staff member in that
area to assist the patients. I do not have medical training.”
In seeking a court order to close Midtown, the state said, “Midtown
Hospital...continues to display a complete disregard for, or the inability to
care for, the health and safety of its patients.” Midtown Hospital’s
“continuing failure to meet minimum health and safety standards...places
the health and safety of its patients in jeopardy on a daily basis.”
In response to the request, Fulton County Superior Court Senior Judge
William Alexander order the facility closed May 22. The building is now for
sale and a DHR spokesman said Oct. 23 that the agency considers the case
closed.
At the time of the closing, Midtown was administered by Ignatius DeBlasi and
Herbert Wiskind was the chief executive officer. Dr. Edward Portman was
reported to be the physician performing abortions at Midtown Hospital in May
1998.
Midtown Hospital performed 7,465 abortions in 1996, the most recent annual
report available. In addition to performing more abortions than any other
Georgia facility, Midtown was the major provider of second trimester abortions.
Of the abortions Midtown performed in 1996, 1,806 were second trimester
abortions.
Twenty-three percent of all abortions in Georgia in 1996 were performed at
Midtown Hospital.
In the early 1980s Midtown Hospital became the focus of large pro-life
demonstrations after the Georgia Bulletin reported state certificates
revealed 14 infants survived abortions at Midtown and lived briefly, the
longest for 13 hours. At issue was the gestational age of the fetus, which was
supposed to be verified before a late term abortion was performed.
After the “live births” became public, Midtown was required by the
state to develop policies and procedures to care for infants surviving second
trimester abortions.
However, in 1984 the Georgia Bulletin reported that a new
experimental procedure had been used at Midtown Hospital 600 times in late term
abortions. The procedure injected the drug digoxin directly into the heart of
the baby in utero, killing the child before labor was induced and thereby
avoiding live births.
Court documents filed in May 1998 by DHR reveal that inspectors began to
cite Midtown Hospital for rule violations following its annual inspection in
February 1996 and again in May 1997.
A follow-up inspection in October 1997 led DHR to impose a civil penalty of
$25,000 on the facility for failing to maintain compliance with DHR rules and
regulations for hospitals.
On-site visits Jan. 23, Feb. 13 and Feb. 19, 1998 led to a 60-page statement
of deficiencies, according to court documents, and “revealed a startling
array of severe rule violations which have a direct adverse impact on patient
care.”
On March 9 Midtown was notified of the state’s intent to revoke its
hospital permit.
On March 14 inspectors visited again in response to complaints with an
inspection warrant and accompanied by Fulton County sheriff’s deputies,
because they had been denied access to some hospital areas on Feb. 13. They
found 106 patients were expected for surgical procedures March 14.
“Interviews with patients accentuated the deplorable conditions at
Midtown Hospital,” the court documents said. “All nine patients
interviewed stated that they did not see a physician prior to being on the
operating room table...All nine patients interviewed reported that they heard
other patients screaming...Seven of nine patients reported that they witnessed
spontaneous expulsion of fetuses in various areas within Midtown Hospital,
including the commode, the floor, the corner of a room, and a hallway.”
The rule violations cited as a result of this visit “show a shocking
disregard for the welfare of Midtown Hospital’s patients,” the court
papers said.
Other deficiencies cited by the state included:
- -The sterilization process to prevent spread of infection was severely
deficient. For example, a sterilizer was not working properly, women in patient
gowns sat on torn vinyl chairs that were not cleaned, attendants were not
wearing surgical caps and masks.
- -Personnel files lacked evidence that many employees were qualified for
their jobs.
- -Midtown Hospital lacked any system for identifying and tracking unexpected
or negative patient outcomes. DHR consistently found records lacked information
regarding the transfer of patients to other facilities due to complications
arising during or after surgical procedures performed at Midtown Hospital.
- -Midtown Hospital lacked proper controls regarding the accessibility and
administration of medications. “Drugs were administered to induce labor
and uterine contractions but the staff had not been trained on the drugs’
effectiveness, complications and contraindications.” Patients were not
monitored after drugs were administered and patients delivered before reaching
surgery.
DHR licenses and regulates health care facilities in Georgia, issuing
permits of operation for health care facilities. Hospitals are defined as
health care facilities where patients may be seen for a period of 24 hours or
longer.
On April 21 Midtown Hospital, through its attorneys, sent DHR a lengthy plan
to return operations to compliance with DHR rules and regulations.
However, on May 5 another follow-up inspection by the state revealed that
the problems persisted, according to the state complaint.
“Midtown Hospital’s continued operation in violation of DHR’s
rules and regulations is endangering its patients. Midtown Hospital has shown
and continues to show complete disregard for the health and safety of its
patients. It lacks any system or program for the prevention of the spread of
infection among patients, its sterilization techniques are substandard, it
fails to track or address unexpected patient outcomes, it is unable to produce
any evidence of the qualifications of many of its employees, it lacks the
proper controls on the accessibility and administration of medications, and its
physical plant itself is in disrepair,” according to documents filed by
the state with the court.
Court documents said staff at Midtown Hospital said there had been no
patient incidents or transfers to other hospitals in the 12 months preceding
January and February 1998 inspections, but documentation from other area
hospitals contradicted this claim.
An affidavit filed by an employee who worked there for 15 months said the
staff member was instructed to tell patients who asked questions that the
procedure would not involve inducement of labor or the experience of delivery.
In addition to the inspections and follow-up being done by DHR, people
taking part in sidewalk counseling and pro-life demonstrations outside Midtown
provided information to the state which they learned from contacts made at the
abortion facility.
Michelle Wolven, one of a small group who would arrive at Midtown at 5:30
a.m. several days a week to try and dissuade women from entering, said they
provided information to the state when they learned of conditions from patients
or workers and they also requested copies of state inspection reports to
monitor conditions. They would also point out disrepair at the building to
women entering.
“We would talk about how bad it was inside. Some would leave,”
said Wolven, a member of St. Joseph’s Church in Marietta. The group would
also help women who needed a place to stay or other assistance. They sometimes
observed women being pressured by boyfriends to enter, she said, and called the
police.
They were surprised, however, when the court-ordered closing was made public
May 22.
“We feel that babies are definitely not going to be killed. We were
very, very happy,” Wolven said.
In a public statement, Mary Boyert, executive director of Georgia Right to
Life, said, “We know that abortions are not rare. We are hearing from the
state of Georgia that, in at least one facility, they are not safe. It is time
for the American public to rise up and demand that they no longer be
legal.”
Peggy Sinanian, director of the archdiocesan Pro-Life Office, expressed hope
that the state report would strip away some of the falsehoods in which the
abortion industry clothes itself.
“I am very grateful that the abortion industry has been exposed for all
the world to see,” said Sinanian. “Ordinary folks like you and me can
turn these things around. We can’t just cluck our tongues and walk away
and hope that someone else will do something. We need new people to join
pro-life committees and be active.”
|
