ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — North Carolina health officials are recommending that Mission Hospital be placed on Immediate Jeopardy over multiple patient safety incidents investigated this summer and early fall, according to a state letter to hospital officials.
The letter, addressed to Mission Memorial Hospital CEO Greg Lowe, cites failures in patient rights and nursing services, including patient misidentification, improper telemetry monitoring and unsafe patient transport practices. Investigators said these lapses created an unsafe environment for patients.
“Hospital staff failed to provide a safe environment for patients by failing to have systems in place and followed to promptly correct and mitigate risks related to patient misidentification, to follow established telemetry escalation pathways and ensure systems in place and functioning for continuous monitoring of a patient during transport,” the letter said.
It also noted failures in responding to emergent patient needs and in infection prevention.
State inspections occurred Sept. 15-19 and Sept. 22-26. Officials determined that incidents from July 26, Aug. 19, and Sept. 4 represented ongoing immediate jeopardy. A Sept. 18 incident related to infection prevention was deemed resolved.
During an exit conference on Oct. 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recommended a 23-day termination because of noncompliance.
The recommendation marks the second time in two years Mission Hospital, the largest health care provider in Western North Carolina, has faced the possibility of losing Medicare and Medicaid funding under HCA Healthcare’s ownership. State officials reported the findings to CMS, which will make the final determination.
Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell said the hospital disagrees with the state’s recommendation.
“Mission Health is disappointed with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) decision to recommend CMS place our hospital in Immediate Jeopardy,” Lindell said. “While we respect the surveyors’ role, the state regulators have not articulated what insufficiencies exist today, given the extensive corrective action plans we have implemented and provided to them. Because of that, we proactively shared our plans with CMS. We believe we have addressed the issues and welcome an expedited follow-up survey.
“We remain confident in the ability of our team to provide compassionate, high-quality care and are committed to continuous improvement in patient safety and clinical excellence. We will continue to work cooperatively with DHHS and CMS to resolve this issue, while keeping our main focus on the community we serve.”
CMS’s regional office in Atlanta will decide whether to place Mission Hospital in immediate jeopardy. If so, the hospital would have 23 days to issue a correction plan or risk losing critical Medicare and Medicaid funding, which could have major financial consequences.