Oregon State Hospital is no longer at risk of losing its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) certification, the Oregon Health Authority said Friday. The decision is based on more than a year of investigation following four patient safety incidents.

Why was Oregon State Hospital at risk of losing its certification?

CMS requires all entities that provide Medicare and Medicaid services to meet certain participation requirements to receive funding.

When a serious patient safety incident occurs, CMS investigators will visit the hospital to review both the incident and overall hospital safety, according to Oregon State Hospital spokeswoman Amber Shoebridge.

OHS made its first visit in August 2023. the patient escaped during a transfer. Following review, CMS issued a statement of deficiencies. If the shortage is serious, the hospital has 10 days to make a plan to correct the problem.

What does it mean for Oregon State Hospital to be compliant?

Once remediation plans were submitted and approved, investigators returned to re-examine the hospital, Shoebridge said.

“Over a year, we had four different events that triggered our visit, which led to four different declarations of deficiencies and four different remediation plans. When they came to re-examine, they re-examined all four remediation plans. Immediately,” Shoebridge said.

The events are three separate patient deaths In addition to the 2023 escape. The hospital noted “significant improvements in patient safety and quality,” according to a news release Friday.

“Even if CMS has adopted a remediation plan, you’re not done implementing it yet, because you’re also monitoring it, typically for at least a year, to show that you stuck to what you said you were going to do,” Shoebridge said. in question. “The work will continue.”

OHS will continue to monitor remediation plans and work to eliminate deficiencies at the standard level.

Sejal Hathi, director of the Oregon Health Authority, said the decision “is a testament to our hospital staff’s ongoing commitment to promoting and providing a safe and therapeutic environment in which all patients can thrive.”

What is Oregon State Hospital?

Oregon State Hospital Psychiatric hospitals in Salem and Junction City have capacity for about 700 patients. The hospital in Salem had a capacity of 558 patients, and Junction City had a capacity of 145 patients.

In recent years the hospital has faced significant challenges, including: “Revolving door” of defendants It was accepted for restoration before legal action and citations by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Association. patient attack on staff.

The hospital in Salem is also known as one of the filming locations for the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach him at [email protected] or 971-208-5615.

This article was first published in the Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon State Hospital recovers Medicare and Medicaid certification