MOUNT HOLLY TWP. -- An employee of Virtua Hospital Marlton has filed suit against the hospital, claiming he was retaliated against for reporting contamination and cleanliness issues that could endanger patients.
Jose Dalumpines of Cherry Hill alleged in his suit that he has repeatedly found contaminated equipment, including some stained with blood and urine, left in storage rooms designated only for clean equipment that is ready for use on the hospital floor.
Instead of addressing his concerns about the situation, his superiors in the hospital's central sterilization department suspended him for alleged behavioral issues, he alleged in his suit.
"As alleged in the complaint, Mr. Dalumpines should have been rewarded for bringing serious health and safety issues to management's attention, not punished," said his attorney, Matthew A. Luber of the Marlton firm McOmber & McOmber.
Luber wrote in the civil complaint filed May 16 in Superior Court in Burlington County that his client was "sure that it was only a matter of time until a patient/employee got sick or an infectious outbreak occurred."
After reporting the issues, Dalumpines alleges he has been "subjected to increased scrutiny and abrasiveness" at work and passed over for promotions and other opportunities.
Dalumpines, an equipment technician who cleans in the sterilization department, is seeking compensation, punitive damages and attorneys' fees and costs. In addition to Virtua Hospital Marlton, he named as defendants Virtua West Jersey Health System and the central sterilization department manger, Thomas Bishop.
Virtua spokeswoman Peggy Leone said the health system does not comment on pending litigation.
"We stand behind our long history of commitment to quality and safety for our patients, their families and our employees, as demonstrated by the numerous quality awards received at our Marlton and other facilities," Leone said in a statement.
Dalumpines started working in the hospital's sterilization department in November 2015. The following July, he found a triple IV pump that was dirty, with residue and possible bacteria in the pump, stored in an area designated for clean equipment ready to use on patients.
"It was clear to plaintiff that CSD workers were taking shortcuts, using improper cleaning agents, and simply not following protocol," Luber wrote in the suit. "Although plaintiff reported this incident to his superiors, no one seemed to care to find out how such a dirty IV pump came to be left in a 'clean' area."
Throughout the rest of the summer, he noticed equipment contaminated with "feces, bacteria, blood and other foreign objects were often stored in the clean room," the suit states.
He also alleged that staff stored both clean and dirty equipment on the same carts, going against protocols meant to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Dalumpines claims he reported and showed the issues to his immediate supervisor. He said she always promised to pass the information to higher-ups, but those superiors later said they were not informed.
In September 2016, his coworker confronted him and about why he was "making a big deal" about the dirty equipment, the lawsuit said.
A day later, his supervisor informed him that his coworker had complained about Dalumpines raising cleanliness issues, the lawsuit states. In that phone call, an angry Dalumpines commented about his coworker, "if he wants war, it's war." This resulted in him being called in for a meeting with Bishop and suspended for two days, according to the lawsuit.
In that meeting and another a week later, Bishop refused to listen to or discuss Dalumpines' concerns about the dirty equipment and risk of contamination, the suit alleges.
Dalumpines claims that his concerns were never addressed and the "cleanliness and contamination issues remain and have gotten worse" to date.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.