The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found that workers at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs did not properly clean vaginal ultrasound probes, according to a report in the Denver Post.
The department began its investigation of the hospital in April, after a former ultrasound technologist filed a complaint, the paper reported. The technologist, Mary Falcone, was fired by the hospital last September, which she attributed to complaints she made regarding what she claimed were faulty disinfection procedures.
The investigation found that the hospital did not have a reliable policy for disinfecting the probes, or for cleaning surgical instruments, procedure rooms, and a rubber component of intravenous medication vials. Workers stated that these improper practices had been going on for at least four years, according to the Denver Post.
Falcone has filed a suit against the hospital that alleges she was wrongfully fired in retaliation for her complaints, the Post said. The article can be found here.
