[Subscribe for FREE to Carolina Public Press\u2019 Daily, Weekend and Election 2026 newsletters.<\/a>]<\/p>\n That unannounced inspection was a condition of Mission\u2019s earlier arrangement<\/a> with CMS, in which the agency agreed to remove the hospital from Immediate Jeopardy if it followed through on a plan to correct the problems identified during an inspection in October.<\/p>\n During that earlier visit, state regulators witnessed<\/a> a preventable patient death, unsafe patient transport, patient misidentification and harmful infection protocol, prompting the federal health agency to take action.<\/p>\n Immediate Jeopardy is a term used by CMS to designate hospitals whose noncompliance with health and safety regulations places patients at risk of serious harm. If not fixed, it could lead the federal agency to terminate essential Medicare and Medicaid funding.<\/p>\n However, the pulling of such funding seems unlikely to be a viable option, given that Mission Hospital is a critical health care provider in the western part of the state.<\/p>\n Lowe said in his message to employees announcing the new Immediate Jeopardy status that Mission has already submitted an \u201cenhanced\u201d corrective plan, one that\u2019s more comprehensive than the one developed following its failed October inspection, and added that he\u2019s committed to \u201cresetting\u201d the hospital\u2019s relationship with CMS.<\/p>\n Aspects of the plan include hiring an independent consultant to provide guidance and oversight to hospital leadership and making changes to the hospital\u2019s grievance process for employees and patients.<\/p>\n In addition, Mission has submitted a separate plan to correct the compliance issues noted in the follow-up survey visit. Exactly what those issues are is still uncertain.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have submitted extensive and comprehensive plans to CMS to resolve the deficiencies that were identified,\u201d Mission spokesperson Nancy Lindell told CPP in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n \u201cOur collaboration with CMS has provided an opportunity to strengthen our processes and further enhance patient care. We have the resources and support from our organization to make the improvements identified. We take our responsibilities to the citizens of western North Carolina seriously, and our leadership, dedicated caregivers, and physicians remain focused on providing the best possible care.\u201d<\/p>\n State inspectors will once again stage a visit to the hospital prior to Feb. 18, according to Lowe.<\/p>\n The formerly nonprofit Mission Health has suffered controversy after controversy since being acquired by Tennessee-based for-profit HCA Healthcare in 2019, driven mostly by staffing shortages, treatment of staff and concerns over quality of care. That includes the multiple Immediate Jeopardy findings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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