The Department of Health did a surprise inspection to the Quincy Medical Center’s psychiatric ward for seniors on May 23 which triggered suspension for the said medical facility.
The inspectors observed that the place is filthy and the patients were neglected which made them decide to suspend admission to the facility the same day of the visit. The Quincy Medical Center’s president and the nurses promised to resolve these issues so that they can return to operation.
Filthy geriatric unit, broken furniture, walls calling for repainting, broken sensory equipment, cluttered activity room, and old patient privacy curtains are the physical conditions observed on the facility. However, it seemed that the people needed replacement too as the inspectors noticed that the patients were neglected by the less compassionate nurses of the ward.
The surprise inspection occurred six weeks after the one-day protest of the hospital’s nurses and three weeks before the one-year contract signing of the hospital and these nurses.
Daniel Knell, president of the hospital, sent a response letter in June 11 to the Department of Health acknowledging the alarming conditions reported.
“A change in culture among unit staff is paramount,” he said in the letter.
The letter was published in The Patriot Ledger last Friday. Knell cannot be reached at the moment to provide confirmation about the letter. Even the Department of Health officials were not available for comments. However, Steward Health Care, which owns the hospital, confirmed that two supervisors were fired because of the report.
It is said that the ward had been renovated and new equipment had been installed to address the issues about the hospital environment. As for the behavior issues of the nurses, they were given ‘empathy training’ by Steward.
Quincy Medical Center is a psychiatric ward for senior patients which closed in 1998 but reopened when Steward Health Care bought it in 2011. It assists 17 patients a day according to the Department of Health.
