Detroit Medical Center: Plan Addresses Issues With Sterile Tools

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - The Detroit Medical Center says a plan to address problems with its sterilization of surgical instruments has been approved by state regulators.

The medical center said Tuesday the plan is separate from a plan approved by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and both agencies are working together to ensure findings are resolved.

Like the CMS plan, officials say key elements of the plan filed with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs include the use of a council and task force. Parts of the plans are already in place.

The medical center has admitted that unclean surgical tools sometimes forced doctors to delay procedures, although it insists that no one was harmed. The problems were reported in August by The Detroit News.

The report found five hospitals on the DMC campus were affected — Children's, Detroit Receiving, Harper University, Hutzel Women's and DMC Heart hospitals — which rely on the same department to sterilize instruments.

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