CMS and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs are once again looking into Detroit Medical Center's central sterile department and its ability to properly clean surgical tools, according to The Detroit News.
LARA and the Joint Commission conducted inspections Monday of sterilization facilities at Children's Hospital of Michigan, Harper University Hospital and Detroit Receiving Hospital — all part of DMC — and Karmanos Cancer Institute, a partner of DMC located in its Midtown Detroit campus.
The surprise inspection comes after both state and federal agencies cited DMC's central sterile department in 2016 after an August report from The Detroit News uncovered problems in the department that dated back more than a decade.
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DMC had to submit correction plans to the agencies, which featured several steps, including:
- Creating a perioperative improvement council and task force to oversee perioperative services, including CSP
- Revising policies for cleaning between cases in the operating room
- Instituting an annual review of infection control policies
- Enhancing training
However, a dirty surgical tool was delivered to a DMC operating room just one day after the state wrapped up its original investigation in December.
In statements sent to Crain's Detroit Business, both LARA and CMS said the new survey was authorized "due to new allegations involving unsterilized surgical equipment on the Midtown campus."
DMC told Crain's Monday "The surveyors are present and the DMC will work with them during the course of their survey."