Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Hospital has been placed in immediate jeopardy and must come into compliance with Medicare conditions of participation by Nov. 9, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
The hospital, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, could face termination of its CMS Medicare Provider Participation Agreement if it is found to be noncompliant, the health department said in an Oct. 21 statement shared with Becker’s.
CMS accepted the state department’s recommendation of immediate jeopardy, which was detailed in an Oct. 10 letter from the health department to Mission Hospital CEO Greg Lowe.
A Mission Health spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker’s that the hospital has addressed the issues.
“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,” the spokesperson said. “Because of that we proactively shared our plans with CMS. We believe we have addressed the issues and welcome an expedited follow-up survey.”
The incidents noted in the letter from NCDHHS included hospital staff failing to respond and assess a patient with emergent needs and failing to provide adequate monitoring during patient transport.
In an Oct. 17 email to staff, Mr. Lowe said several aspects of the health department survey “were unusual.”
“This includes the length of time surveyors were on-site and the fact that more than two-thirds of the complaints they were sent to investigate were determined to be baseless,” Mr. Lowe said in the email, which was shared with Becker’s. “We worked with the surveyors at every step of the way. Our team was collaborative, transparent and responsive, providing them with more than 200 documents over a nearly two week period.”
It is the second such designation in two years for the hospital. CMS notified the hospital of an immediate jeopardy identification in February 2024. Mission Hospital submitted a plan of correction shortly after, and the designation was lifted in June 2024 after CMS determined the hospital was back in compliance.
It is the hospital’s third immediate jeopardy designation since 2019, Asheville Watchdog reported Oct. 21. HCA Healthcare acquired Mission Health, a six-hospital system, for $1.5 billion in 2019.
“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,” the Mission Health spokesperson said. “We will continue to work cooperatively with DHHS and CMS to resolve this issue, while keeping our main focus on the community we serve.”
A CMS spokesperson told Becker’s it does not comment on ongoing or potential investigations.
