Warwick, R.I.-based Kent Hospital entered a consent agreement with the state Department of Health to spend at least $1.7 million on a 100-day "turnaround plan" to improve patient safety and care quality, the Providence Journal reports.
The agreement, signed June 22, comes after four separate surgical and procedural errors at Kent Hospital between December 2017 and May 2018.
Kent Hospital's consent agreement marks the second time this month the Rhode Island Department of Health has entered into a consent agreement with one of the state's major healthcare providers.
The department and Providence-based Rhode Island Hospital signed an agreement June 4 after four separate patient errors in four weeks (in February and March 2018). Rhode Island Hospital's agreement will result in numerous improvement measures over the next year and included a minimum investment of $1 million to internal improvements.
After the consent agreement was signed, interim Kent president Raymond Powrie, MD, and James Fanale, MD, president and CEO of parent system Providence-based Care New England, issued a joint statement.
Dr. Powrie and Dr. Fanale said they self-reported all four incidents to the health department and corrective measures began before June 22.
"There is no greater issue on which we focus than patient safety and quality of care," the statement said. "Kent Hospital and Care New England are firmly committed to addressing the issues put forward by the Rhode Island Department of Health today."
The 100-day turnaround plan involves "an active and aggressive improvement plan that is resulting in a complete and thorough review of our safety culture and practices, hospital-wide education, retraining, and recommitment to a level of excellence that will be unsurpassed," the joint statement said.
"Much of this work and financial investment already began prior to the findings issued today and includes disciplinary action, policy and procedure review, competency assessment, auditing of compliance with policies and protocols, and prospectively maintaining a constant state of renewed diligence towards adherence and compliance," the statement said.