The Pennsylvania Department of Health has reported that a Beaver County, PA rehabilitation facility gave the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine to more than 200 of its residents without approval from the Department of Health.

Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, in Brighton, PA, has had one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the state. Reports state that due to Covid-19, Brighton has had more than 300 resident cases, over 100 staff cases, and 73 resident deaths. In a wrongful death lawsuit filed earlier this year, the family of a Brighton staff member who died of Covid-19 alleged that the virus had spread through the facility unchecked.

This week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health released a report revealing that Brighton had given hydroxychloroquine to 205 of its residents without authorization. The Pennsylvania Department of Health has not approved hydroxychloroquine for use to prevent Covid-19. Hydroxychloroquine has also not been approved by the FDA for treatment of Covid-19 outside an experimental hospital setting. The Pennsylvania Department of Health noted in its report that possible side effects of hydroxychloroquine can be deadly.

According to the Department of Health, the facility was required to obtain approval from the Department of Health before administering a medication that is not generally accepted in the medical community, such as hydroxychloroquine. Brighton failed to do so.

At this point, Brighton is reporting that no resident has experienced any adverse effects from hydroxychloroquine, and they have stopped administering the drug. The Department of Health plans to audit the facility to ensure hydroxychloroquine is not given to any other patients.