Affiliate: Planned Parenthood Southeast includes Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Locations: 2. Covered here: 2.
Health Violations: Birmingham, Mobile
Sexual Abuse Problems: Birmingham, Mobile
Malpractice Suit: Birmingham
911 call: Mobile
Patients who feel a need to file a complaint:
Alabama Health Care Facilities – Filing Complaints
Birmingham
Clark
Court Document:
Plaintiff’s Complaint and Factual Allegations
Excerpt:
Page 4
- On August 20, 2010, defendants performed an ultrasound showing estimated fetal gestational age of 8 weeks 4 days. . .
Page 5
- On September 14, 2010, plaintiff presented to emergency department of BMC Princeton Medical Center in Birmingham Alabama with complaints of nausea, vomiting and left lower quadrant pain.
- On September 14, 2010 following physical examination and ultrasound exam at the emergency department of BMC Princeton Medical Center, the ultrasound showed evidence of a 13-week gestation that was extrauterine involving left adnexa (fallopian tube), this finding prompted emergency admission of plaintiff for surgical intervention, pain management and treatments.
- On September 15, 2010, at MBC-Princeton Medical Center, plaintiff underwent a laparoscopy with conversion to laparotomy in which plaintiff’s left tube was removed with the 13-week fetus and placenta.
Court Document:
AL Birmingham Consent Agreement for Downgrade of License to Probation, 2010
Excerpts:
1. In order to settle this dispute, Planned Parenthood voluntarily accepts a downgrade of its license to operate the Center to probational status . . .
5. . . . Planned Parenthood agrees that it shall:
a) . . . the Center’s policies shall also require reasonable measures to verify that any individual signing the consent for an abortion involving a minor patient is actually a parent or legal guardian capable of giving such consent . . .
b) Develop and implement written policies and procedures to ensure full compliance with the mandatory reporting requirements of the Alabama Child Abuse Reporting Act . . .
f) . . . maintain an infection surveillance logbook in the manner required [by Alabama law] . . . .
Note: The court case cited above, while primarily dealing with the reporting needed to prevent sexual abuse, also contains requirements for better infection surveillance.
Health Department Documents:
Highlights:
Clinic Conditions
The clinic neither ensured staff cleaned equipment used in surgery, clean chairs in the recovery room, or wash their hands.
An examination table was in disrepair, increasing the chance of infection.
There was no documentation of emergency exits in the outdated emergency evacuation plan.
Staff
There was no policy in place to ensure that doctors were competent and qualified, such as observation of surgical procedures and interactions with patients.
The medical director failed to document an annual review of competency for two doctors on staff.
There was no job description on record for the Health Center Manager.
Four medical employees had no record of a Hepatitis B vaccine or a TB test. There was also no record of a nurse practitioner being screened for hepatitis.
Medical Records and Labels
Paperwork given to women before surgery failed to include the names of medications given, what medications were to be taken home, and omitted the name of the doctor operating on them.
Incidents
In 2014, two employees sold drugs to patients in the parking lot. The director fired all staff. To hire and train new staff, the facility was closed, but the director never informed the Health Department of the closure. None of the former employees cooperated with health inspectors.
Other
The telephone number of the Alabama Department of Public Health complaint hotline was neither posted where patients could see it, nor given in the patient instructions.
AL Birmingham Google 1. Accessed 09.07.21.
AL Birmingham Google 2. Accessed 09.07.21.
AL Birmingham Yelp 1
Mobile
Temporarily Closed
Alabama Department of Public Health
Document:
AL Department of Public Health Statement of Deficiencies
Excerpt:
Pages 1-2:
Based on the review of the Alabama Code 1975, Title 26, Chapter 14, Reporting of Child Abuse or Neglect, facility’s policies and procedures, medical record (MR), and interview, it was determined the facility failed to report reasonable suspected abuse or neglect for a minor. This affected MR # 16 and had the potential to affect all patients served by this facility.
Report from NBC News 15:
Planned Parenthood in Mobile Failed to Report Possible Abuse of 14-Year-Old
Excerpt:
The Alabama Department of Public Health confirmed that the report is from their annual inspection in Mobile back in November 2014. The deficiency report details several incidents including a case involved a 14-year-old minor identified in the report as MR#16. According to the findings, the 14-year-old had recently received her second abortion from the clinic in four months and she already had two other children. It said there was evidence that she was “abused,” but the incident wasn’t reported to police at the time.
Under Alabama’s state law, all hospital, clinic, doctors, physicians and professional health employees are “mandatory reporters” and must report when a child is “known or suspected of being a victim or child abuse or neglect”.
Health Department Documents:
Highlights:
Clinic Conditions
Some of the medications that were supposed to be available for emergencies were missing. The Emergency Kit wasn’t secured.
Expired medications were used on patients.
The clinic failed to conduct preventative maintenance on medical equipment.
Staff failed to inspect all four fire extinguishers on a monthly basis.
Staff
Doctors and workers were observed failing to wash their hands after conducting medical tasks and before handling sterile instruments.
The medical director didn’t observe, monitor, or document the clinical skills of any of the clinic’s four doctors.
Medical Records and Labels
The clinic failed to document post-surgical pathology results. Any material left after surgery can cause severe infection.
Many records were incomplete, including documentation regarding ultrasounds and anesthesia.
The nurse failed to document what medications were given, or neglected to document the times they were given.
Incidents
On March 3, 2011, a patient who’d been given medication at the clinic called to report “severe cramping and uncontrollable bleeding.” The incident wasn’t documented, with no record of instructions given to the woman or any follow-up phone calls to monitor her condition.
Clinic staff failed to report the possible sexual abuse of a minor. A 14-year-old girl with two living children came in for an abortion on April 12, 2014, then came in for a second abortion on November 18, 2014. Although this minor had been pregnant four times in a short period of time, no report was filed.
In one patient’s case, a pathology examination revealed no tissue was obtained. The facility didn’t notify the patient, who went to see a doctor because of abdominal pain, without the needed information.
One patient was given medication even though tests showed her hemoglobin level was under 10, indicating anemia. This put her at risk of complications.
Twelve patients weren’t given the name of the doctor who did surgery on them and didn’t have the needed contact information in case of complications.
