Wilson (N.C.) Medical Center will retain its Medicare contract following a state survey in May that identified immediate jeopardy to patients' health and safety.
The N.C. Department of Health Service Regulation determined three events threatened patient safety earlier this year at the Duke LifePoint hospital: one died after a fall and sedation at the facility; another died shortly after his heart monitor was disconnected. The third incident involved a suicidal patient who locked himself in a bathroom in the hospital's emergency room lobby and threatened to overdose on medication that regulators say the hospital should have confiscated.
The hospital submitted a corrective action plan to CMS June 28.
On Aug. 5, a spokesperson for the hospital told Becker's in a statement the hospital was no longer in danger of losing its Medicare contract.
"Wilson Medical Center is pleased to share that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has confirmed the findings and recommendations made by the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation surveyors a few weeks ago. This means that our Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) status has been removed, and our Medicare contract remains intact."