Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1293445
139 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY OB-GYN practice countersues Prisma Health, alleges 'deteriorating' care quality and 'abysmal' conditions By Mackenzie Bean N ine obstetricians and gynecologists said they were forced to leave Columbia, S.C.-based Prisma Health due to "dete- riorating" care quality and persistent safety is- sues at the system's Baptist Hospital, according to an Aug. 14 legal filing cited by e State. South Carolina OB-GYN Associates claim the safety issues started aer Columbia, S.C.- based Palmetto Health of the Midlands and Greenville (S.C) Hospital System merged to form Prisma Health in 2017. In the filing, the physicians claim Prisma Health-Midlands poorly maintained Baptist Hospital's facilities in Columbia, hired inexperienced nurses and suffered from chronic short-staffing. ese issues created "abysmal" work condi- tions and "astonishing lapses in patient care, cleanliness, and unsafe hospital conditions," the suit said. e medical group claims these issues went unaddressed aer physicians raised concerns with top hospital leaders and oversight committees. e filing is in response to a lawsuit Prisma Health-Midlands filed against the medical group in July for breaking a 10-year lease aer two years to move to West Columbia, S.C.-based Lexington Medical Center in October 2019. In its counterclaim, the medical group claims Prisma violated the terms of its lease by not providing them with a "reasonably adequate" hospital in which to practice safely. "We absolutely disagree and are deeply trou- bled with the negative statements made in the local media about [the] counter lawsuit," Prisma Health COO Greg Rusnak said in a statement to Becker's. Mr. Rusnak noted that Baptist Hospital is the only hospital with four stars from CMS in the Columbia and Lexington, S.C., area. He also said e Joint Commission surveyed the hospital earlier this year and found zero con- dition-level deficiencies. "As you know, lawsuits can be filed with any allegations, and our standard practice is not to comment on pending litigation," Mr. Rus- nak said in the statement. "Yet these claims are so egregious that we felt it important to defend our reputation." n Nurse imposter treated multiple children in Georgia without license By Gabrielle Masson A woman was arrested in August after al- legedly impersonating a nurse in Geor- gia, reported WGCL-TV. Heather Denise Banks has been charged with identity theft of a registered nurse after she al- legedly provided medical care to people using someone else's identity, Douglas County (Ga.) Sheriff's investigators said. Ms. Banks worked for Omni Healthcare Ser- vices in Lithia Springs, Ga., where she cared for children with serious medical conditions in their homes. Officials say Ms. Banks used a license of a registered nurse, though she her- self does not have a registered nursing license in Georgia. Authorities said Ms. Banks said she posed as a nurse for more money, and that she had treated at least two children, though she was only autho- rized as a certified nursing assistant. Ms. Banks said she had pretended to be a registered nurse at another agency before, officials said. Omni Healthcare did not respond to Becker's re- quest for comment by the time of publication. n HHS expands pharmacists' authority to give vaccinations By Maia Anderson H HS has given pharmacists the authority to administer vaccines to children ages 3 and older under an amendment to the Pub- lic Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. The amendment, announced Aug. 19, allows pharmacists to admin- ister childhood vaccinations, subject to several requirements, such as that the vaccine must be approved or licensed by the FDA, the phar- macist must complete a training program of at least 20 hours that is approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education and the pharmacist must have a current certificate in basic cardiopulmo- nary resuscitation. HHS said the decision to expand pharmacists' vaccination au- thority was made because of a "troubling drop" in routine child- hood vaccinations caused by families staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic. "This decrease in childhood-vaccination rates is a public health threat and a collateral harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," HHS said. The agency said the amendment is intended to avoid preventable diseases in children, additional strains on the healthcare system and any further increase in avoidable adverse health consequences, par- ticularly if such complications coincide with an additional resurgence of COVID-19. "[The] action means easier access to lifesaving vaccines for our chil- dren, as we seek to ensure immunization rates remain high during the COVID-19 pandemic," said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. n