A CMS inspection has tied four patient deaths at Warm Springs-based Montana State Hospital to noncompliance with federal rules, according to a Feb. 23 report by the Helena Independent Record.
A CMS inspection report, obtained by the Montana State News Bureau and cited by the Helena Independent Record, outlines four patient deaths tied to failure to implement proper infection control and safety practices at the psychiatric hospital.
According to the report obtained this week by the Montana State News Bureau, 87 of 107 patients contracted COVID-19 in an omicron-fueled outbreak the hospital failed to control. The hospital's failure to isolate and separate COVID-19 patients from those without the infection resulted in three patient COVID-19 deaths, according to the findings from the February inspection.
Inspectors also said staff failed to implement safety measures to prevent patient falls. According to the report, 41 patient falls were recorded on four units from Jan. 1 to Feb. 9. When inspectors arrived Feb. 8, the hospital census was 107. One patient died Jan. 30 after an earlier fall resulted in a subdural hematoma.
According to the report, the facility's infection prevention specialist told CMS inspectors Feb. 9, "Currently the facility does not have an infection control plan, risk assessment or COVID-19 pandemic plan that has been approved … we only have rough drafts."
Inspectors notified the hospital Feb. 9 that it had reached "immediate jeopardy" status, which requires immediate corrective actions. If the deficiencies aren't corrected by mid-March, the state hospital will lose funding from CMS.
The state HHS department, which operates the hospital, said it is moving forward with corrective actions, but declined Feb. 23 to describe its plan, according to the Helena Independent Record.
Becker's has requested comment from Montana State Hospital and will update this article as new information becomes available.