Parkland Hospital Preps for CMS Reassessment

Next Steps
CMS put Parkland under a systems improvement agreement in September 2011. It's a rare course of action saved only for those healthcare organizations that are in danger of losing Medicare certification and funding because of serious infractions that could harm patients. Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, N.C., is the only other hospital currently operating under an SIA.

When asked about Parkland's progress, CMS spokesman Bob Moos emailed a statement indicating the federal agency was pleased with what the hospital had accomplished.

"Parkland is continuing to progress through the elements of the Corrective Action Plan. The focus now shifts toward making sure that those practices are embedded into the hospital's operations to ensure sustainable compliance with federal requirements."

CMS gave Parkland an April 2013 deadline to improve its performance or lose certification and therefore funding. That's just four months away, but Laxton and Urbanowicz are doing everything they can to hammer the message that Parkland is a safe place for patients.

They're training hospital staff to be ready to respond to a pair of mock surveys. The first one is to take place next month, the other in February.

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