The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services conducted an unannounced investigation at the facility prior to issuing the citation, after local citizens reported they saw a man in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank smoking near a busy road on June 5.
The facility took immediate action upon receiving the citation to avoid losing CMS funding. Its “immediate jeopardy” status was removed on June 7.
Big Sky became a non-smoking facility in May 2018, when CMS issued the facility’s first “immediate jeopardy” citation for a patient who caught fire and suffered from second-degree burns while smoking with an oxygen tank. The patient died weeks later.
Big Sky has had 21 complaints resulting in a citation over the past three years, and it is listed as a candidate for a federal program intended to improve facilities with poor care.
Big Sky did not respond to Becker’s request for comment.
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