State flags Connecticut hospital for service cuts: 9 notes

Connecticut's Office of Health Strategy has raised concerns with Vernon, Conn.-based Rockville General Hospital's service cuts that "may be in violation" of state law, according to an Oct. 17 letter.

Nine notes:

1. Craig Sullivan, an attorney with the regulatory agency, wrote in a letter to the hospital that it may have violated the law by allegedly discontinuing services that can be waived only through a certificate of need.

2. In March 2020, a waiver was granted and allowed the hospital to close its operating rooms and other services, Mr. Sullivan wrote. 

3. Mr. Sullivan wrote that the hospital stopped providing "all medical/surgical" services at that time. Rockville General has not restored the services and did not seek a waiver to discontinue them, according to Mr. Sullivan.

4. He also claimed the hospital appears to have stopped providing inpatient psychiatric services around June 2020. 

5. The letter includes questions regarding whether the services have been stopped and which ones, to determine if state laws were violated. It gave Deborah Weymouth, CEO of Eastern Connecticut Health Network, until the end of October to respond.

The hospital is operated by Manchester-based Eastern Connecticut Health Network and owned by Prospect Medical Holdings.

6. An Oct. 30 email written on behalf of Prospect requested additional time to respond and a lawyer meeting. It states that Rockville General is compiling information to be fully responsive and will do so by Nov. 22.

7. The Office of Health Strategy denied the request and instead extended the deadline to Nov. 8, according to an Oct. 31 letter.

8. Rockville General Hospital is part of the stalled deal between Prospect and Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health. The latter filed a lawsuit in May against Prospect to exit the deal, which also includes Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital and Manchester Memorial Hospital.

9. Eastern Connecticut Health Network was not immediately available for comment. This story will be updated if more information becomes available.

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