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Hershey Medical Center issues warning to 2,300 past patients
Mark Marino | The Daily Collegian 23 hrs ago
The Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center has issued a warning to 2,300 patients who have had an open-heart surgery procedure in the past four years.
...
The bacteria grew out of water in the “heater cooler coil,” a water bath used during heart surgeries to warm and cool the blood. This is an issue that could happen in any hospital conducting open-heart surgery procedures, Freer said.
“We had six of them — we did replace every one of them and in addition, enhanced cleaning procedures for water baths,” Freer said.
She said that this was not a result of any errors in the surgical procedure or technique.
...
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/st...21ac0c07c.html
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Open-Heart Surgery Important Information
We are contacting approximately 2,300 patients who had an open-heart surgery procedure at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in the past four years.
We have learned that three patients who had open-heart surgery during this time became sick with a rare bacterial infection. This type of bacteria is called Nontuberculous Mycobacteria, or NTM. NTM grows slowly and is commonly found in soil and water, including tap water. It is usually not harmful, but in some cases it can cause infections in patients who have had invasive health care procedures – such as open-heart surgery – and those who may have weakened immune systems.
We want to explain what occurred and reassure you that we, along with the physicians and nurses in our organization and community, will do as much as we can to answer your questions and address your concerns.
If you have any other questions or concerns about this matter beyond the information on this site or want to speak with someone about any additional health care evaluations you may need, please call our toll-free line, 1-877-467-7484.
This web page is intended to provide you with the information you need regarding this issue. If you are a patient or medical provider looking for more information, please click the appropriate link below.
http://www.pennstatehershey.org/web/...are/open-heart
Mark Marino | The Daily Collegian 23 hrs ago
The Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center has issued a warning to 2,300 patients who have had an open-heart surgery procedure in the past four years.
...
The bacteria grew out of water in the “heater cooler coil,” a water bath used during heart surgeries to warm and cool the blood. This is an issue that could happen in any hospital conducting open-heart surgery procedures, Freer said.
“We had six of them — we did replace every one of them and in addition, enhanced cleaning procedures for water baths,” Freer said.
She said that this was not a result of any errors in the surgical procedure or technique.
...
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/st...21ac0c07c.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open-Heart Surgery Important Information
We are contacting approximately 2,300 patients who had an open-heart surgery procedure at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in the past four years.
We have learned that three patients who had open-heart surgery during this time became sick with a rare bacterial infection. This type of bacteria is called Nontuberculous Mycobacteria, or NTM. NTM grows slowly and is commonly found in soil and water, including tap water. It is usually not harmful, but in some cases it can cause infections in patients who have had invasive health care procedures – such as open-heart surgery – and those who may have weakened immune systems.
We want to explain what occurred and reassure you that we, along with the physicians and nurses in our organization and community, will do as much as we can to answer your questions and address your concerns.
If you have any other questions or concerns about this matter beyond the information on this site or want to speak with someone about any additional health care evaluations you may need, please call our toll-free line, 1-877-467-7484.
This web page is intended to provide you with the information you need regarding this issue. If you are a patient or medical provider looking for more information, please click the appropriate link below.
http://www.pennstatehershey.org/web/...are/open-heart