June 1, 2009 — After finding breaches of procedure in the kidney dialysis clinic at Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital, the hospital's governing board, hospital staff and administration are undergoing a review of kidney dialysis at the hospital. No one has been harmed by the breaches in protocol, proper procedures are in place now and the clinic is being monitored closely, said Carmelo Rivera, the board's chairman, on Monday.
"There were two issues," Rivera said. "In April the hospital was surveyed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who found a number of procedures not being followed. Some employees did not file proper documentation in a couple of instances, for example."
A followup from the hospital is due Friday, according to a statement issued Monday by the board.
"It was a question of not following proper procedures for isolating anyone with an infection," Rivera said. "It happened with one patient several times."
Now they are following established procedures and are being closely monitored, he said.
"There is no indication any patient was hurt," Rivera said.
Infection-control testing is a routine procedure of hemodialysis and to date no other patients have been affected, thanks in part to staff cleaning and sterilization procedures, according to the board's statement. The board notified acting Commissioner of Health Julia Sheen, who has assigned staff to work with hospital personnel to help resolve any problems.
The board approved, in concept, a dialysis technician certification program through the University of the Virgin Islands Community Engagement and Life-Long Learning Center, and the UVICELL Center is now offering a 10-week Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician program designed for individuals who already have experience working in the field. Classes begin June 16 on St. Thomas and St. Croix. The deadline for registration is Thursday. For more information or to register, contact the UVICELL Center at 692-4230 or visit http://cell.uvi.edu.
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