Pirate's Cove

Obviously, this has “pro-choice” folks freaking out

(News And Observer) As abortion politics continue to roil North Carolina, state health officials Wednesday suspended the license of an Asheville abortion clinic.

The third sanction against a North Carolina abortion clinic since April came two days after Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed a controversial abortion bill while protesters held vigil outside the governor’s Executive Mansion.

Obviously, that’s more important than

In a 49-page report, the Department of Health and Human Services found “egregious violations … that revealed an imminent threat to the health and safety of patients” at the clinic.

Violations included failure to maintain anesthesia delivery systems and ensure regular checks of emergency equipment.

In fact, that’s about all we get in the story. The rest revolves around the current legislation passed and signed by Gov. McCrory. WRAL did slightly better

DHHS director of health service regulation Drexdal Pratt said inspectors found FEMCARE Inc., failed to comply with 23 separate rules. Among the violations, the agency said FEMCARE failed to maintain anesthesia delivery systems in good working condition, with torn masks and tubing held together with tape. The inspection further revealed that the clinic didn’t have an agreement or contract with an anesthetist or anesthesiologist.

Inspectors also found the clinic failed to ensure emergency equipment had weekly checks to ensure the equipment was suitable for use in patient care and failed to ensure that emergency medicine wasn’t expired.

The ultra-far left hysterics at The Raw Story say that the clinic was shut down (it wasn’t, just license suspended until they fix the issues), and that the law literally just signed is to blame (it’s not: these are long standing laws).

The HuffPo is concerned that FemCare might have been the only abortion mill left standing after the passage of the abortion safety law. Is this the kind of clinic they want open? From the NC DHHS press release

In addition to other findings, the survey found the facility:

• Failed to maintain anesthesia (nitrous oxide gas) delivery systems in good working condition, with torn masks and tubing held together with tape.This could lead to patients not receiving the intended dosage and risk patients not being fully sedated during surgical procedures, leading to pain and physical harm.
• Failed to ensure emergency equipment had weekly checks to ensure the equipment was suitable for use in patient care and failed to ensure that emergency medicine wasn’t expired.
• Failed to have a resuscitator available.
• Failed to sweep and mop the operating room floor and failed to properly clean operating room beds.
• Failed to have a director of nursing responsible and accountable for all nursing services.
• Failed to have an agreement/contract with an anesthetist or anesthesiologist.
• Failed to have an agreement/contract with a registered pharmacist to assure appropriate methods, procedures and controls for obtaining, dispensing, and administering drugs.

FEMCARE, Inc.’s last inspection was on January 16, 2007, a follow up inspection of a previous survey, which found the clinic in violation of personnel and quality assurance rules.

A follow up inspection 6 years from when they previously had lots of problems. Furthermore, if one looks at the full PDF, we find that “the facility failed to follow standard infection control practices as recommended by the CDC.” Proper sterilization procedures were not being followed. Would you be OK with your personal doctor or dentist failing to follow standard practices? But, abortion supporters prefer to put their political position above safety for women.

Safety meetings were not being held and documented. Abortion supporters may think this is silly, but it is The Law, and is required at most medical facilities, and even private companies (they have to do it at my current company).

There was a think layer of dust on the top of a crash cart, on suction machines, and on nitrous oxide machines in multiple ORs. The floors were not mopped in-between patients. The facility is only cleaned a few days a week.

A physician had no idea if a “big clean” was being done in the operating rooms. A non-licensed person was responsible for (supposedly) sterilizing instruments. With little training. And was filling in for another person on vacation. Very few personnel files, mostly incomplete per the law, missing things like training and certifications.

It keeps going and going and going. Some violations were statutory (such as failure to hold a quarterly fire drill since March 2011), some medical (like large amounts of dust in operating rooms). They failed to do weekly checks to make sure that the medical equipment worked and that medicine wasn’t expired.

And this was an abortion clinic the abortionistas held up as a model clinic. What they’ll focus on is not that this medical clinic is a disaster, but that women might not be able to get (medically unsafe) abortions.