The Army has agreed to a settlement with a former military hospital infection control analyst after federal investigators found that she was punished for reporting dangerous health and safety conditions for patients to the Joint Commission, according to an article on The Washington Post website.
Teresa Gilbert was subjected to escalating reprisals by the Army after she reported infection control failures at Womack Army Medical Center in Fayetteville, N.C. last year.
Gilbert told the Joint Commission that the hospital had not addressed long-standing problems with unsterilized instruments, failures to disinfect medical devices, and supervisors who lacked the right training and education in infection control.
As a result of the commission’s findings and an Army investigation, hospital operations were shut down for more a week, senior leadership were relieved of command, and several others managers were disciplined.
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