Federal regulators find patients sleeping in Tampa General hallways

St. Petersburg Times, August 26, 2008

When federal investigators visited Tampa (FL) General Hospital to look into how two patients were able to kill themselves within three days, they found other problems. At least five patients had to sleep in the hallway of the psychiatric unit so they all could be watched by one staffer, regulators said. Doing so failed in "providing for privacy and dignity," regulators for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a report. The report threatens to stop Medicare funding in September unless problems are fixed.