Officers from the state attorney general’s office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency executed a search warrant at Bradford Regional Medical Center last month.
However, the warrant has been sealed by the McKean County Court of Common Pleas. No details about what was being sought when the warrant was executed March 8 have been made public.
Anonymous correspondence mailed to The Era alleged that the warrant focused on the handling of controlled substances at the hospital, although nothing has been substantiated by authorities.
Bradford Regional spokesman Dennis McCarthy confirmed the search, and the sealed warrant. He said representatives of Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office, supported by the DEA, were at BRMC March 8.
“The search warrant was limited to one department of the hospital,” McCarthy said. “Like all hospitals, BRMC holds a DEA license and as such is subject to announced and unannounced compliance visits, as is typical of all regulatory agencies with any hospital oversight. As with all oversight agencies, the hospital cooperated fully.”
He added that hospital officials “do not know the reason for the search or if anyone did anything wrong and will not know until we get further information. We have not heard from the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General since they left BRMC on March 8.”
McCarthy continued, “Specific to the search on March 8, this is a matter of internal operations. We will not publicly discuss the internal operations or oversight visits by third party organizations, particularly in the absence of any findings. To do so would be speculative and irresponsible.”
He did stress that patient safety remains paramount at Upper Allegheny Health System, the parent company of both BRMC and Olean General Hospital.
“Patient safety is the number one priority at Bradford Regional Medical Center and the facility has been recognized by numerous organizations for its patient safety efforts,” McCarthy said. “Bradford Regional Medical Center offers safe, quality care for every patient, every day.”
McCarthy also vehemently rejected any suggestion that hospital officials knew of wrongdoing and covered it up, that the Olean hospital was also searched and that criminal charges, fines and dismissals have resulted from the search.
“With regard to anonymous statements made to the paper, there is no cover-up, there was no search of OGH, there are no criminal charges, fines or dismissals as a result of the visit,” McCarthy said.
Attempts to find further information regarding the search warrant were unsuccessful.
A request for information from Shapiro’s office was denied.
“Our office can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any criminal investigation,” said Joe Grace, director of communications.
The Philadelphia bureau of the DEA declined to offer information, saying the matter was being handled by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office.
The Era also made inquiries in the McKean County Court of Common Pleas regarding the sealed warrant. Clerk of Courts Laura Isadore explained procedure with a sealed warrant is that nothing is noted on a public docket, including the identity of the accused and the law enforcement agency asking for the warrant.
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, explained court records are public under the constitution, but that can be overcome “when good cause is shown on the record. The requirement that good cause be shown on the record exists so that limits on public access can be challenged in a higher court.”
The Era sought a copy of the order sealing the warrant in this matter, but McKean County President Judge John Pavlock declined.
“It would be inappropriate for the court to provide any information regarding, or any comment regarding the existence or non-existence of any asserted ‘sealed warrant,’” the judge wrote in a letter replying to the Era’s request.
It was not immediately clear when the seal on this warrant would expire, something Melewsky indicated is also necessary.
Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 211 “allows affidavits showing good cause to be sealed for up to 60 days, but the seal order must make clear its expiration, and upon expiration or institution of criminal proceedings, the warrant and supporting affidavit are public,” she explained.
The Era also asked McCarthy if BRMC would be willing to share a copy of the warrant. Citing the advice of counsel, McCarthy declined.
