CMS takes South Dakota hospital off 'immediate jeopardy,' but Medicare funding still at risk

Megan Knowles -

The Indian Health Service hospital on the Rosebud (S.D.) Sioux Indian Reservation is no longer on "immediate jeopardy" status after a CMS investigation found safety deficiencies, but still has several issues to fix if it wants to continue receiving Medicare funding, the Argus Leader reports.

Five things to know:

1. CMS discovered the safety issues during a survey of the hospital in late July. Although specific deficiencies were not immediately made public, CMS said there were severe problems. Inspectors found the hospital failed to provide appropriate medical care and did not ensure the safety of emergency department patients.

2. Although the hospital avoided losing its Medicare funding by resolving shortcomings found in the July inspection, a follow-up review revealed additional flaws.

3. In a letter to Rosebud IHS hospital officials, a CMS manager on Sept. 7 said the hospital had to resolve deficiencies in six areas, including infection control, anesthesia services, quality assurance and performance management.

4. The hospital has until Nov. 5 to resolve the issues and will have a shorter deadline — 10 days — to complete plans of correction.

5. This is not the first time CMS has threatened to revoke the hospital's Medicare contract. In 2015, inspectors found employees hand-washed surgical instruments after a sterilizer broke, did not communicate a patient had untreated tuberculosis and failed to monitor a patient who delivered a baby prematurely on a bathroom floor. The IHS closed the hospital's ED in 2016. Health service officials attempted to improve care at the facility and reopened the ED but closed the hospital's surgical and OB-GYN units.

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