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CMS plans to halt hospital Medicare funding after patient death

Quality Improvement Monitor, June 13, 2008

CMS plans to cut off a North Carolina hospital’s Medicaid and Medicare funding June 22 after federal investigators found the facility violated dozens of standards that contributed to the death of a patient, according to the News & Observer.

William Bobbitt Paschall, 76, suffered from chest pains, numbness in his left arm, and shortness of breath, making him a poor candidate for surgery. Despite his poor health, doctors at Franklin Regional Medical Center in Louisburg, NC, went ahead with his knee replacement surgery in December 2007, the paper said.

The surgeon did not tell the physician who assumed care of Paschall after the operation about his chest pains, the Observer reported. The day after surgery, clinicians and the lab did not move swiftly to report a critical blood test indicating he was in immediate jeopardy of heart failure. Paschall’s heart stopped before physicians received the results of the test.

Federal investigators found the hospital in violation of dozens of safety standards and said clinicians did not record critical medical information. They also said a nurse anesthetist was allowed to work without adequate supervision, the paper reported. In a separate probe, CMS found problems with the hospital's pharmaceutical and respiratory services.

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