Congress questions Joint Commission about West Texas Hospital
Accreditation Connection, March 12, 2007
In a letter to Joint Commission President Dennis O'Leary, three members of congress questioned the accreditation of West Texas Hospital in Abilene, TX. The Joint Commission "intends to respond to the members of Congress in a timely manner," according to Charlene Hill, Joint Commission media relations manager.
In January, the Joint Commission-accredited physician-owned hospital had a patient die due to respiratory arrest after undergoing an elective spinal surgery. West Texas Hospital called 911 because staff needed the patient to be transferred by ambulance to a local community hospital for emergency services, according to a press release from senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and U.S. representative Pete Stark (D-CA).
The congressmen question why The Joint Commission accredited the hospital in May 2005 when it was the hospital's standing policy to call 911 for help during emergency situations.
CMS has since terminated the hospital from its Medicare program on the basis of noncompliance with the Conditions of Participation.
The senators requested the following information from O'Leary:
- A detailed description of the events surrounding the application for and granting of Joint Commission accreditation for West Texas Hospital
- A detailed account of all activities the Joint Commission conducted with regard to West Texas Hospital after accrediting the facility, including the number and nature of reviews the Joint Commission made of West Texas Hospital during its tenure and the results of each review
- How the Joint Commission learned of the January 23, 2007, patient death and any actions the Joint Commission took in response to this notice
- The current status of West Texas Hospital's Joint Commission accreditation
- Copies of all the Joint Commission-issued reviews or reports of or about West Texas Hospital for the last three years
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