Earlier this summer, An abortion facility in Pennsylvania was ordered by the state’s Department of Health to close for the time being after failing a surprise inspection on Monday, June 5, 2017. Now, that horrific facility has been permanently closed. Local media reported last week that the center surrendered its license.
In 2011, Pennsylvania enacted regulations requiring that the state’s abortion facilities must be subject to surprise inspections. These regulations were passed in an effort to prevent the tragedies at Kermit Gosnell’s “House of Horrors” from happening again.
Hillcrest Women Center’s failure to pass inspection on last June wasn’t the first time that the abortion facility has failed to pass a state inspection. It has failed its health inspections four times in the past six years, in direct violation of state law. Some of the worst violations listed in the February health inspection included:
- Failing to conduct Patient Safety Committee meetings quarterly, in direct violation of the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Act;
- Failure to conduct background checks for employees, in direct violation of the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL);
- Admitting and treating individuals under the age of 18;
- Failure to implement a policy that addressed suspected abuse reporting requirements, in direct violation of the Adult Protective Services Act of 2010;
- Failure to provide documentation to show that the consultant physician was board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology;
- Failure to document what type, the amount, and the method of delivering anesthesia to patients;
- Failure to supervise patients while recovering from surgery or anesthesia;
- Failure to document blood type; and
- Failure to have a registered nurse present for at least twelve patients who visited. A state-conducted interview with a Hillcrest employee further revealed that the facility did not employ or utilize the services of a registered nurse.
In spite of these atrocious violations, Hillcrest was still successfully managing to operate when it should have been immediately shut down. However, several Pennsylvania legislators got wind of what was happening and sent a scathing letter to the Health Department Secretary asking why the facility was being allowed to operate under such dangerous conditions. That letter stated:
The DOH inspection report portrays a facility which is clearly unsafe and unhealthy for both patients and staff alike. Given this, we would like an explanation as to why DOH did not immediately move to suspend or revoke Hillcrest Women’s Medical Center’s license upon finding such numerous egregious violations. These health and safety violations are obviously deeply troubling. However, even more problematic appears to be DOH’s response, which was to allow the abortion clinic to continue operating while granting Hillcrest a six month grace period to correct the cited “deficiencies.”
Thankfully this dangerous facility in now shut down and will no longer continue to take the lives of preborn children or inflict physical or emotional damage on women.
