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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT:
Roseann R. Cadau |
State Rep. Tony DeLuca |
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DeLuca plans bill to protect medical whistleblowers from retaliation
HARRISBURG, Jan. 31 – State Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, will again introduce legislation that would protect hospital whistleblowers from employer vengeance if they report unsafe or dangerous conditions to a state agency for possible investigation.
The proposal by DeLuca, majority chairman of the House Insurance Committee, would allow health-care employees to call a toll-free telephone number and report incidents to the state’s Patient Safety Authority, which could impose fines on hospitals for hazardous hospital conditions that may put patients in jeopardy.
“In some cases, hospital officials have been known to get even with employees who reported dangerous patient conditions,” DeLuca said. “We have to change the law to enable doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals to confidentially report problems pertaining to patients’ care and not fear losing their jobs.”
Currently, hospital staff can make anonymous reports to hospital executives but efforts to rectify those problems may be ignored.
“If hospital officials don’t bother taking care of patient problems, then the facilities risk becoming hotbeds for malpractice lawsuits,” DeLuca stated.
In previous legislative sessions, the House passed DeLuca’s bill but the proposal never made it out of a Senate committee.
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