ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Mission Hospital is bringing in an independent consultant to oversee safety and quality improvements after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) placed the hospital in “immediate jeopardy” status for the third time in two years.
CMS required the move as part of its response to serious patient safety concerns, including two deaths, a reported assault on a nurse and a measles exposure in the hospital’s emergency department earlier this year.
In a memo to employees, CEO Greg Lowe said the hospital plans to hire “an expert in hospital quality to provide guidance and oversight to our hospital leadership team” as part of the effort to address the findings.
Nancy Lindell, division director of public and media relations for HCA Healthcare North Carolina, said Mission Hospital’s plan, known as an Enhanced Plan of Correction (EPoC), was accepted by CMS on Feb. 2. The plan calls for a comprehensive review of hospital operations, processes and outcomes, with the goal of creating a “sustainable framework that enhances patient safety and quality programs.”
The independent consultant must be hired within 30 days, according to CMS guidelines. The consultant will oversee safety changes, monitor implementation of the hospital’s correction plan and provide regular reporting to CMS.
Local healthcare advocates, meanwhile, have raised concerns about the hospital’s discharge process and will hold a news conference at 9 a.m. Monday to discuss these issues. Confirmed speakers include State Rep. Lindsey Prather, Buncombe County Commissioner Terri Wells, RN Karen Sanders, oncologist Dr. Mike Messino, and State Sen. Julie Mayfield. The news conference will be held at 200 College St., 1st-floor conference room, Asheville.
CMS officials said Mission Hospital previously failed to meet multiple Medicare Conditions of Participation, including patient rights, nursing services and infection control. The independent consultant is intended to help the hospital achieve and sustain compliance before CMS could take further enforcement actions.