Welcome to DKos Asheville. This space appears each weekend to share news and opinion from Asheville and Western North Carolina. The floor is open for comment and discussion. Wishing all a good day from this beautiful part of the world.
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A new report detailed in a North Carolina health department letter to Mission Hospital shows Mission may be at risk of losing federal funding Medicare reimbursement as state inspectors deem the facility in "immediate jeopardy" of losing its compliance with the Federal Medicare Conditions of Participation.
Investigators with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services have determined Mission has failed on multiple fronts to care for and safely evaluate patients in the emergency department. The letter was obtained by Asheville Watchdog from the the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The letter states that incidents in April, July, August and October of last year showed “hospital nursing staff failed to provide a safe environment for patients presenting to the Emergency Department.” The letter stated this included “failing to accept patients on arrival, resulting in the lack of or delays with triage, assessments, monitoring, and implementation of orders, including labs."
“It represents the most severe and egregious threat to the health and safety of patients,” said Jakob Emerson, assistant news director for healthcare news publication Beckers. “It carries the most serious sanctions from the agency towards the hospital and that’s the potential loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding.”
“We now have confirmation of what folks in this community have known for a long time,” said N.C. Sen. Julie Mayfield, who represents Asheville. “The hospital can no longer say these are anecdotal accounts, that everything is fine. Everything is not fine.”
Andrew R. Jones, avlwatchdog.org
Mission Hospital risks losing Medicare and Medicaid funding because of deficiencies in care that were so severe, state inspectors concluded last month, that they “posed immediate jeopardy to patients’ health and safety,” Asheville Watchdog has learned.
“Immediate jeopardy” is the most serious deficiency possible for a hospital. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has recommended that Mission lose its participation in Medicare unless it quickly corrects the deficiencies, according to a letter obtained Thursday by The Watchdog.
Failure to correct the deficiencies could threaten the financial viability of the hospital system. The majority of patients in Western North Carolina are on Medicare, Medicaid or uninsured.
The Dec. 19 letter from NCDHHS to Mission CEO Chad Patrick cites nine incidents over 19 months that highlighted deficiencies in care and states that “the hospital nursing staff failed to provide a safe environment for patients presenting to the emergency department by failing to accept patients on arrival, resulting in lack of or delays with triage, assessments, monitoring and implementation of orders, including labs and telemetry.
“ED nursing staff failed to assess, monitor and evaluate patients to identify and respond to changes in patient conditions,” the letter states. “The hospital staff failed to ensure qualified staff were available to provide care and treatment for patients who arrived in the ED. The cumulative effects of these practices resulted in an unsafe environment for ED patients.”
“In response to listening to our communities and through collaboration with the Attorney General’s Office, Dogwood has asked the IM to add responsibilities beyond what is in the current scope of work,” Dogwood spokesperson Erica Allison told Xpress in a statement. “The additional responsibilities Dogwood asked Gibbins to undertake this past year, in particular those related to community engagement and education and engagement with the Attorney General’s Office, exceed those required under the Asset Purchase Agreement.”
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Saturday morning, Jan. 13, was a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday with an annual prayer breakfast.
In its 43rd year, the event was attended by more than 1,000 community members and leaders who came together to mark the holiday at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville. It is hosted by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County.
Asheville native and Stephens-Lee High School graduate James E. Ferguson II was the event speaker. He was the first president of the Asheville Student Committee On Racial Equality (ASCORE) in 1960.
Attorney General Josh Stein was also in attendance.
This tradition is a great way to bring people of different walks of life together.
“There is that great energy and there is that great love and that inspiration," said Dr. Oralene Simmons, community leader. "Some people have even remarked that this is the way that they open their new year and kind of sets the pace for them for the rest of the year.”
Thanks for reading, it’s going to be dangerously cold next week.
“Be safe out there.” Lamont Cranston