CMS placed the hospital on “immediate jeopardy” status Aug. 25 after a survey by the Missouri Department of Health revealed Mercy Hospital Springfield was not in compliance with federal standards, including some related to patient care. This move put the hospital’s Medicare and Medicaid funding at risk.
With its federal reimbursement in question, the hospital fired 12 employees earlier this month for failing to act with “dignity and compassion” in “highly tense situations,” a hospital spokeswoman told Becker’s Hospital Review. The hospital appointed an interim leadership and said it is instituting new training to help caregivers de-escalate situations and uphold a safe environment.
A CMS spokeswoman told the News-Leader the agency is still in the process of determining whether Mercy Hospital Springfield corrected the issues identified by regulators, and the agency will likely issue a decision regarding the hospital’s Medicare and Medicaid funding this week.
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