OCH Regional Medical Center has instituted stricter policies and is monitoring how employees dispose of gloves after handling garbage since a complaint was filed with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in regard to stormwater washing non-biohazardous trash into the nearby Plantation Homes subdivision.
An internal memo was sent last month advising OCH employees they could be fired for discarding gloves — those specifically worn by groundskeepers during the process of removing trash — on the ground near dumpsters after gloves and other refuse were observed and collected in the drainage area between the hospital and Windsor Road.
Trash receptacles specifically designated for groundskeepers’ gloves have also been installed near OCH dumpsters.
The appearance of gloves, medically related waste — including a syringe wrapper and patient identification bracelet — and common trash in the subdivision’s drainage area in the last 18 months was reported to OCH and MDEQ by Bonnie Coblentz.
Coblentz, who is the secretary-treasurer of the Plantation Homes neighborhood association, first raised concerns about trash spilling out into the drainage area last year and again brought the matter to the hospital’s attention in May and August before reaching out to MDEQ.
OCH launched its own investigation and determined that none of the items were hazardous materials that posed an infectious risk to the public as “no visible blood or body fluid” was present and “all biohazard waste was properly secured in a designated storage area.”
“(OCH) previously looked into it and basically gave me an explanation of why it happened. The impression I got was ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s not medical waste and we’ll try to do better,” Coblentz said. “The whole reason you put gloves on is because whatever you’re about to touch shouldn’t be on your hands, and I don’t want them in our yards.”
The trash issue has affected at least one other neighbor, she said.
“Their little girl … she’s picked up some things as she’s been playing out there,” Coblentz said.
OCH addresses issue
While it was determined some of the trash came from OCH, other garbage could have originated from nearby health care facilities and outpatient clinics.
Specifically, an OCH filing within the MDEQ response states the hospital does not utilize the brand of needle linked to the packaging found in the drainage area.
“They do keep saying there’s no proof that all of it came from the hospital, but that’s not my concern. My concern is I have medical waste in my backyard,” Coblentz said. “In the hospital’s defense, there are a lot of people associated with it, and there might be some that either don’t care what falls out in a parking lot or intentionally throw things out on the ground. I understand that, but my complaint is the medical waste. It should never be discarded outside of a secured area.”
OCH officials checked surveillance footage in an attempt to determine who was dumping what in its receptacles but could not definitively answer the question “due to camera positioning and the wide date range of events,” the report states.
However, surveillance footage captured an employee discarding his work gloves on the ground near the east parking lot’s dumpster, the report states. Hospital investigators also found multiple gloves near the open culvert feeding into Plantation Homes.
“Multiple pairs of gloves have been found each day near the trash compactor up until the date of this initial report. Plant ops has now placed trash cans with signage for glove disposals. Managers of involved suspected departments have been notified to correct the problem,” wrote OCH infection control nurse manager Savannah Brown in August. “Discarding gloves is a ‘fire-able offense,’ per (OCH Chief Executive Officer Richard) Hilton. The situation will continue to be monitored.”
OCH’s response to MDEQ states no gloves had been found littering hospital grounds after the memo was issued in August; the plant operations department is ramping up cleaning efforts around the east parking lot, as well as area drainage ditches and pipe sites; and administrators were considering installing screens onto the drainage areas.
Hilton said he felt MDEQ representatives were satisfied by OCH’s corrective action plan and he will continue to update hospital trustees on the situation.
“With the dumpsters we have on our property, anyone can come and throw trash in there. MDEQ representatives said the dumpsters are on our property, so we have to take responsibility for whatever is dumped in it,” he said. “We have a safety committee focused on employee-patient help, and that extends to our neighbors. It’s about being a good neighbor, and (Coblentz) definitely has a right to voice her concerns about it.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.