A federal agency is delaying a decision of whether to terminate the agreement that allows Mercy Hospital Springfield to be paid by Medicare, a spokesperson said Friday.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the state are still in the process of determining if Mercy has successfully corrected factors that posed “immediate jeopardy” to the health and safety of patients, according to a CMS spokesperson.
The spokesperson said the decision will likely be made this week. She did not immediately respond to a request for a specific date.
Mercy recently fired 12 employees after identifying concerns with their behavior in “highly tense situations.”
CMS said earlier this month that a “complaint investigation” conducted by a state agency “resulted in a determination of immediate jeopardy to the health and safety of patients” at the hospital.
The report by CMS said there were several concerns regarding patient care, including a physical altercation between an agitated mental-health patient and a male nurse in January.
The report also criticized the hospital for placing a female patient for 15 days in a space the hospital calls an “acute-care area” but the federal agency says it should instead be classified as a “seclusion” area.
The agency believes a medical doctor should approve a patient’s placement in seclusion.
Overall, according to the report, the hospital has failed to consistently follow up on patient grievances and failed to report to a state agency instances of alleged abuse even when hospital supervisors did not consider the actions abusive.
Since the report, Mercy has announced it is bringing an interim leadership team to help lead the hospital.
Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1891, Mercy’s 886-bed Springfield hospital serves people throughout southwest Missouri as well as northwest Arkansas.