Ruston, La.-based Northern Louisiana Medical Center has until Oct. 1 to correct patient care deficiencies or lose its Medicare funding, according to CBS and ABC affiliate KNOE.
The 130-bed hospital, operated by Shreveport, La.-based Allegiance Health Management, must submit an acceptable plan of correction by Sept. 2, according to an Aug. 18 CMS letter. The agency extended the termination deadline, which was originally set at Aug. 30.
That letter cited deficiencies in patient rights, radiologic services and the physical environment. A June 15 letter had flagged the hospital’s governing body, patient rights and nursing services.
A July 29 state inspection found 12 alleged violations — down from 24 in the original June 1 survey and 14 in a July follow-up, according to KNOE.
The June survey documented eight shifts over a 10-day span on the progressive care unit staffed by licensed practical nurses with no registered nurse assigned, a high-risk suicide patient who left the unit undetected and more than 236 delinquent medical records. The July inspection flagged expired atropine dated July 2023 in a dusty container, suction regulators last serviced in 2012 and 2013 and a CT scanner out of service since December 2024.
The compliance push coincides with a leadership change. CEO Monica Adams resigned Aug. 21 after about three months, citing personal and family reasons, the hospital said. COO Arnie Young is serving as interim CEO while the hospital searches for a permanent replacement.
“We are very pleased with the progress we’ve made, and we have every intention of seeing it all the way through and continuing to improve our health care,” a hospital spokesperson told KNOE.
If the hospital does not submit an acceptable plan of correction, CMS will end its Medicare participation Oct. 1 — a move that would cut off reimbursement, could threaten its state licensure and likely result in closure.
Becker’s has reached out to Northern Louisiana Medical Center and will update this article should more information become available.
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