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State hospital gets preliminary denial of accreditation

Healthcare Security Weekly, February 4, 2008

The Lincoln Regional Center, a state psychiatric hospital in Nebraska, has been issued a preliminary denial of its Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) accreditation following a survey during which surveyors observed a security risk, reported the Lincoln Journal Star.

The hospital, which serves about 230 patients, was surveyed by The Joint Commission in January. The survey team issued a preliminary denial of accreditation after they observed a nurse in what they believed was a dangerous situation -- a recommendation which the Joint Commission will review Feb. 5, the newspaper reported.
 
The hospital is taking steps to resolve the security risk in the unit where the most dangerous patients are cared for, a Health and Human Services Department official told the newspaper. The nurse was working in a medication area of the unit when she was approached by a patient who asked for his medication. The nurse, who was separated from the patient by a Dutch door with the top opened, told the patient he would have to wait. The patient stepped towards the nurse with a menacing look. The nurse was not in the line of sight of any other staff member and the surveyor felt there was a safety issue, the official told the newspaper.

The security incident took place in the same unit where a patient attacked a psychiatrist, allegedly causing his death in August 2007.

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