More Deficiencies Found at Methodist Health

Methodist Dallas Medical Center continues to face the possibility of termination of its Medicare funding after a second review of the medical center revealed two new problems. At risk is about $208 million in federal funding.

Laura Irvine, the administrator at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, was notified of the medical center's new deficiencies in the areas of nursing services and infection control in an Oct 12th letter from the Dallas office of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The exact nature of the new problems is unknown. In an e-mail exchange, Bob Moos, a spokesperson for the Dallas office of CMS, said the deficiency specifics will not be made public until Oct 24th when Methodist Dallas files with CMS its required corrective action plan. Once CMS accepts the CAP another survey will be scheduled before Dec. 13th, which is the date when CMS could terminate the medical center's Medicare agreement if the deficiencies aren't corrected.

The new problems were discovered during a follow-up review undertaken to confirm that the facility had corrected certain immediate jeopardy problems identified during an August review of the medical center. That review identified 10 broad areas of deficiencies, involving medical screening, emergency services, handwashing, medication administration, and medical records.

In a statement e-mailed to Healthleaders Media, officials at Methodist Dallas said the 10 previous deficiencies had been "acceptably addressed" but new problems were discovered during the recent seven-day survey.

Methodist's statement noted that the 515-bed hospital "follows national standards regarding nurse staffing and infection control protocols." It said the hospital has already taken action to correct the problems, including "instituting additional nursing education, strengthening surveillance to ensure adherence to policies and protocols, and reinforcing adherence through annual education and performance reviews."

Methodist Dallas Medical Center, which is part of the five-hospital Methodist Health System, is the second Dallas hospital in recent months to face the potential loss of its Medicare funding. Last month officials at Parkland Memorial Hospital signed an agreement with CMS that allows the hospital to retain more than $417 million in Medicare and Medicaid funding while it attempts to correct deficiencies that threatened its closure.