Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-683-6790 ext. 111; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info.operationrescue@gmail.com

ST. LOUIS, Mo., Jan. 10, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Operation Rescue has obtained five Statement of Deficiency Reports that show Missouri state inspectors have cited the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in St. Louis, Missouri, for 39 classes of violations involving 210 incidents - 53% (111) of which were related to failure to provide a safe and sanitary environment.

The reports were based on inspections that took place in 2009, 2013, 2015, and 2016. Of the 210 incidents upon which the citations were based, 61% were identified in 2016.

"Each year that the St. Louis Planned Parenthood has been inspected, the number of incidents has increased. This is hard evidence that things at Planned Parenthood are getting worse, not better for patients," said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. "If a restaurant was cited this many times, it would be shut down, but somehow, Planned Parenthood has been allowed to continue placing the lives of women at risk."

The St. Louis Planned Parenthood is considered a high volume abortion facility where an unusually large number of documented abortion-related medical emergencies have taken place. It is estimated that over 5,000 abortions take place there each year. The inspection reports indicated that on average 340-462 abortions were conducted at that facility each month. All patients were potentially impacted by the violations.

Below are brief examples of the numerous violations that affected patient health:

• Failure to remove expired inventory from active stock. This included items such as IV Solutions, various drugs and other supplies used on patients.
   
• Failure to replace worn, rusted, or deteriorating equipment, including suction machines, IV stands, stools, etc. Often the staff attempted to mitigate the rust problem by covering it with clear tape, but that only made things worse since tape cannot be disinfected.
   
• Failure to properly use and maintain the facility's two autoclaves (sterilizer). Brownish stains were observed in the bottom. Testing for biologic contamination was not done properly. Peal packs used to sterilize surgical instruments were misused in a way that prevented proper sterilization.
   
• Dust, dirt, and unsanitary tape residue found throughout the facility, including on the medication refrigerator, shelves, cabinets, storage bins and walls.
   
• Failure to ensure that patients were fully reactive with stable vital signs before discharge. Charts showed vital signs were not taken every 15 minutes in recovery as required. Patients were discharged without a record of discharge vital signs or Aldrete scores (a medical scoring system used for measuring recovery after anesthesia).

Read Operation Rescue's full report

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