By Marcia Moore
Anyone admitted to a medical facility shouldn’t have the added worry of what will happen to their belongings, Valley hospital officials say.
They encourage patients who arrive at the hospital with valuables, including jewelry or cash, to store it with security officials for safekeeping.
“It’s a service we provide. Patients are stressed enough. They should make us responsible for” their property, said Gregg Rokavec, director of safety and security at Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg.
At hospitals, where hundreds of people enter and leave daily, items are sometimes misplaced, lost, or, in rare instances, stolen.
In a recent case involving Olive Kallenberg, 91, of Hummels Wharf, a diamond wedding ring was stolen off her finger as she was being treated at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, on March 31.
Three days later, Kallenberg died without ever getting her ring back or knowing what had happened to it.
Mahoning Township police charged Michele Colone, 33, of Berwick, with stealing the $5,500 ring to support a drug habit. She was a physical therapist who treated Kallenberg the day the ring disappeared.
On Friday, Colone pleaded guilty in district court to theft and received a three-month to 12-month jail sentence.
The ring was returned Thursday to Kallenberg’s grieving husband, Gordon.
“I want to feel sorry for that girl,” Kallenberg said Friday of Colone, “but she brought it onto herself.”
Although his wife would not have left her wedding ring at home, Kallenberg advises others to leave valuables at home.
Geisinger officials declined to comment on Colone’s case, but did speak about steps patients can take to keep belongings secure.
“We’re a high-traffic area,” Geisinger spokesman Justin Walden said.
With more than 750,000 outpatient visits and 42,000 emergency room visits to the Danville facility last year, Walden said people need to take precautions.
“Even with out best effort, we can’t always be the watchful eye,” said Denise Venditta, associate vice president of nursing services at Geisinger.
That’s why the hospital discourages people from bringing valuables with them and recommends personal items either be sent home with family or stored in a hospital safe, she said.
“We have a full-time security staff,” Venditta said.
Sunbury Community Hospital patients are advised to leave valuables at home and patients admitted with money, jewelry or other items may request they be stored in the hospital’s safe.
“The comfort and security of our patients is important to us and we work to maintain a secure hospital environment,” hospital spokeswoman Emily G. Kissinger said.
Although patients aren’t required to use it, Evangelical Community Hospital has a procedure for collecting and storing patients’ valuables.
Rokavec said he encourages staff to collect belongings in the presence of the patient and a security employee and list each item on a form — a copy of which is held for the patient in a locked safe.
Stored in a sealed and stapled envelope, the items are returned to the patient or family at the time of discharge and a security officer and staff member will once again be present make sure each item listed is collected.
“We encourage all our staff to follow the procedure,” said Rokavec, who confirmed that an average of only about five to 10 patients a week turn over their valuables for safekeeping.
Last year, Evangelical had 31,954 emergency room visits, nearly 90 people a day.
Hospital security is equipped to safeguard a number of items, including jewelry, cash, identification, clothing and even dentures, Rokavec said.
The hospital doesn’t require patients turn over their belongings if there’s no medical reason, though.
“If you have a wedding ring and it means the world to you, and there’s not a medical reason for removing it, we don’t want take it from you,” Rokavec said.
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