Women’s Center of Houston

Clinic is Closed

• Facility has no policy in place to screen for suspected abuse of a child or human trafficking. After screening 3 records of minor patients, inspectors found that none of the 3 patients had been screened for abuse
• None of the personnel have completed the state required training on human trafficking
• Personnel performing ultrasounds are not licensed or certified as required by the state
• Facility failed to provide a safe and sanitary environment to protect the health and safety of the patients and minimize the transmission of infections.
• Personnel failed to follow proper procedure for sterilization of instruments being used from woman to woman;
• Facility failed to provide the women with name and telephone number of the nearest hospital to the home of the patient in case of an emergency arising from the abortion as required by law.
• The facility failed to maintain a safe and sanitary environment placing all patients and staff at risk for infection.
• There are systemic issues at this clinic that have been cited in previous surveys and not corrected. The fire evacuation plan is not being enforced. The policies and protocols are over 10 years old and for a facility at another location that was owned by a doctor who has been retired for years.
• The quality assurance committee did not address medication issues or the integrity of surgical instruments in their meetings as required in the facility’s policy. This deficiency was cited in a 2016 inspection as well and has not been corrected.
• The facility failed to store hazardous materials and cleaners in a secure manner.
• The sterilizer used to sterilize instruments that are used from woman to woman was not maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions and was not being used properly. If the autoclave is not cleaned properly, dirt and debris will build up and can be transmitted to the instruments during sterilization.
• Staff administered care with acryilic nails on
• No safety examination of electrical equipment was documented
• Use of expired medical supplies
• Mixed up medications that were labeled incorrectly
• Medical equipment was not cleaned between patient use
• Medication refrigerator contained blood specimens
• Old splatter of bodily fluids was found on the ultrasound machines
• Facility was dirty with dust and rust visible in procedure rooms
• Use of expired soap and disinfectant
• Staff did not properly disinfect vaginal probe between patient use
• Staff was mishandling medication and failed to take inventory of medication
• Facility failed to follow up with post abortive patients
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