PA Hospital's Deficiencies Detailed in CAP

Margaret Dick Tocknell, for HealthLeaders Media, April 13, 2012

Beleaguered Saint Catherine Medical Center, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week, owes 76 vendors an estimated $2.3 million according to a document released by the Philadelphia office of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

draft of corrective action plan for SCMC

The document also notes that syringes and saline solutions are in short supply and that preventive maintenance is behind schedule for critical pieces of medical equipment such as an EKG, ventilators, and a defibrillator.

The debts, supply shortages, and equipment problems were discovered during a complaint survey conducted at the Ashland, PA facility on March 27 on behalf of CMS by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. According to state and federal officials the deficiencies and violations placed patient health and safety in immediate jeopardy.

As a result, the state placed a ban on new admissions to Saint Catherine, as well as surgical services, emergency, and outpatient procedures at the 67-bed hospital. Although the medical center is still licensed, there are no patients at the facility.

In an April 3 letter to Merlyn Knapp, the medical center's CEO, CMS officials said the medical center's Medicare agreement "will be terminated by April 19 if the immediate jeopardy has not been removed."

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