Becker's Hospital Review

58 CMO / CARE DELIVERY CMS cites UnityPoint-Meriter for 7 deficiencies after infant abuse allegations By Alia Paavola A CMS investigation sparked by infant abuse allegations exposed seven deficiencies at Madison, Wis.-based UnityPoint Health-Meriter, according to a report released by the federal agency April 3 and cited by WISC-TV. In its initial investigation into the reports of unexplained injuries to babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, CMS found an "immediate jeopardy" deficiency. This means the federal agency found a situation where noncompliance with a federal standard has caused or is likely to cause serious injury, harm or death to a patient. The report released April 3 shows this immediate jeopardy deficiency was corrected by UnityPoint-Meriter March 1. In the report released April 3, CMS officials detail several other deficiencies, including improperly tracking or documenting patient injuries, failure of medical personnel to take responsibility for quality of care and failure to follow administrative responsibilities for patient care. Meriter was also found in violation of ensuring a safe care setting, infringing on patient rights and keeping patients safe from abuse. Lastly, the hospital was found to be out of compliance with the quality assessment program requirement, because it did not have one. CMS released the full report of deficiencies more than a month after the investigation because they received and approved a plan of correction from Meriter, which legally releases the documents. "We remain keenly focused on nurturing and protecting the health of all our patients and delivering the high- quality care we have provided to our community for the last 120 years," Meriter spokesperson Jessika Kasten told WISC-TV. Meriter suspended a nurse Feb. 8 in response to the investigation and abuse allegations.n Healthcare workers buy $882k radio ad to highlight high infection rates at Stanford University Medical Center By Mackenzie Bean H ealthcare workers rolled out an $882,000 radio ad campaign March 19 to increase awareness about high infection rates and healthcare costs at Stanford (Calif.) University Medical Center. e minute-long ad aired on 11 radio stations throughout the Bay Area. "As Stanford Health Care has expanded in the Bay Area, they've lost track of the basics like preventing patient infections," the ad's narrator says. "Patients shouldn't have to worry about contracting infections when treated at Stanford Hospital." High infection rates rest at the center of a monthslong contract dispute between Stanford University Medical Center and SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, which represents more than 1,800 Stanford employees. Union members released a report last July citing federal data to highlight patient safety and infection control concerns at the hospital. For example, CMS data showed nearly 700 patients acquired Clostridium difficile at Stanford University Medical Center from 2013 through 2016, according to the union. However, hospital officials said the hospital's infection rates are actually above the national benchmark. "As we communicated to the union previously, Stanford Health Care's Standardized Infection Ratio score actually exceeds the industry benchmark at preventing infections. … Stanford Health Care's current quality score on the Hospital Compare website is four stars, and only 22.4 percent of the more than 4,500 hospitals rated achieved four or five stars," a spokesperson for Stanford Health Care said in a statement emailed to Becker's Hospital Review. "Our rankings are a testament to our dedicated employees and their commitment to quality care and ongoing improvement efforts," the spokesperson said. "We feel it is unfortunate and disrespectful to our employees and the community that SEIU- UHW continues to distort the facts." n

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