CMS placed Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota Medical Center in "immediate jeopardy" status last month, endangering its Medicare funding, after a 13-year-old patient ran away from a psychiatric ward on Dec. 5, according to a Star Tribune report.
CMS filed the immediate jeopardy finding Dec. 12. The hospital worked with CMS and had the immediate jeopardy status removed in mid-December, according to a statement sent to Becker's by Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services, which oversees UMMC.
A therapist took the patient and others outside of the locked pediatric psychiatric unit to go to a nearby pool two days after the patient attempted suicide. The boy in question disappeared while on that trip and was found later a mile away by a hospital courier, according to the report.
"We are working with CMS to answer their questions relative to the single patient incident in question, including to communicate our actions since the incident to enhance policies and procedures," the Fairview statement reads. "Patient safety and the right to privacy are top priorities, and we diligently work to safeguard both for our patients and families. Our goal is to provide exceptional care to every patient."