ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — State health officials recommend Mission Hospital be placed on Immediate Jeopardy for incidents investigated in July, August and September, according to a letter obtained in an open records request to North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS).
The concerns center around patient rights and nursing services. The letter, addressed to Mission Memorial Hospital CEO Greg Lowe, claims 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.”
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The letter goes on to claim nursing staff failed to “respond to and assess a telemetry patient with emergent needs, failed to ensure safe and appropriate transport and continuous pulse oximetry monitoring for a patient during transport, and failed to prevent and control infections by not accurately implementing and communicating infection prevention precautions.”
The practices, according to investigators, created an unsafe environment for patients.
The state’s inspection occurred between Sept. 15-19 and Sept. 22-26. During the inspection, it was determined that the Immediate Jeopardy from incidents of July 26, Aug. 19, and Sept. 4 were determined to be ongoing. An incident investigated on Sept. 18 related to infection prevention practices was determined to be “abated” or no longer an issue.
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During an exit conference on Oct. 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was recommending a 23-day termination due to noncompliance.
The letter said, “CMS Regional Office will make the determination of compliance or noncompliance and will notify you of their findings and of any action to be taken. If you have questions regarding the status of the investigation, please contact the CMS Division Point of Contact.”
News 13 received the following statement from HCA Healthcare’s Mission Health:
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. 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.Past ‘Immediate Jeopardy’
State surveyors found deficiencies during a Nov. 13 – Dec. 9, 2023, survey of Mission Hospital and CMS determined those violations rose to the level of “Immediate Jeopardy.” That finding was reported publicly in early February 2024.
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CMS/NCDHHS inspectors publicly notified the hospital and News 13 in January and February of 2024 that Mission had been placed in Immediate Jeopardy. CMS later suspended or removed the Immediate Jeopardy designation after follow up inspections between February and May 2024.