Geisinger Medical Center officials on Friday announced they have traced the source of the deadly bacterial outbreak that killed three premature babies and sickened five others to contaminated equipment used to prepare donated breast milk.
Hospital officials and the Pennsylvania Department of Health traced the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria to the equipment used in measuring the donor breast milk, which helps premature infants with their nutritional needs, the health system said.
The hospital changed the process Sept. 30 to utilize only single-use equipment to measure and administer donor breast milk, and no new cases have been reported, Geisinger Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Edward Hartle said in a statement.
He noted that the breast milk itself was not the cause of the exposure and said mothers should not be concerned about the safety of their own breast milk.
He also said the Health Department issued the hospital a citation Oct. 18 for failing to have a written policy reflecting the changes made Sept. 30 regarding cleaning equipment used to measure donor breast milk.
“We would like to extend our sincere apologies to the families who have been affected by this incident,” Hartle said in the statement. “We know that the public holds us to the highest standards, and we will continue to strive to live up to those expectations as we have throughout our history, constantly improving on what we do and how we do it.”
But attorney Matt Casey, of the Philadelphia law firm Ross Feller Casey, questioned when the hospital knew about the problem with its process, noting that hospital officials have acknowledged knowing about the outbreak for months.
“Conspicuously absent from Geisinger’s statement is any detail about when its officials first learned of a potential problem with the process it was using to prepare donor breast milk,” Casey said. “We already know there was a conscious decision as early as August to conceal the existence of a deadly infection trend, and a related, conscious decision to admit premature babies to that (neonatal intensive care unit) despite this knowledge. As a result, two babies whose parents I represent are dead.”
Last month, Casey filed suit on behalf of Hazle Twp. residents Zuleyka Rodriguez and Luis David Cepeda alleging Geisinger doctors knew the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit was contaminated by the bacteria, yet failed to take precautions to protect newborn babies, including their son Abel Cepeda, who died Sept. 30.
Casey said he is now also representing a second set of parents whose twin babies were affected by the outbreak. One of those babies was among the fatalities, while the sibling remains in treatment, he said.
“This investigation is only just beginning, and I strongly urge Geisinger officials to disclose everything they know and when they knew it,” Casey said. “If Geisinger’s apologies to these families are sincere, they will make full and complete disclosure. This statement falls far short of that.”
Geisinger officials say the Pseudomonas bacteria is present throughout the environment and only presents a health risk to fragile patients, such a premature babies.
They said that they will continue diverting premature babies under 32 weeks to other hospitals until the Health Department decides on an “appropriate time” to resume normal operations.