Modesto, California’s Stanislaus Surgical Hospital (SSH) is expected to suspend operations indefinitely from April 30 following its expulsion from the Medicare program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decision was influenced by the hospital’s failure to meet nine participation conditions for Medicare, resulting in an anticipated layoff of nearly 200 personnel ranging from administrative assistants to registered nurses and X-ray technicians. The hospital seeks to challenge this decision and has solicited the assistance of federal and county representatives to defer this outcome.
CMS’s decision was primarily based on findings from two health and safety surveys, which revealed non-compliance with essential protocols for patient safety, particularly concerning sterilization and infection control. Consequently, this tarnished SSH’s eligibility for reimbursements from Medicare, a key revenue stream for hospitals. Although some facilities severed from the program manage to rectify errors and regain their status, this remedial process can span upwards of six months. Temporary closure of the 23-bed, short-term hospital that conducts more than 400 elective surgical procedures monthly will require rescheduling surgeries at different facilities.
Maria Munoz, human resources director for Stanislaus Surgical, commits to collaborating with local health providers to secure alternative posts for as many SSH employees as possible. Representatives from other healthcare facilities, like Memorial Medical Center, also pledge to accommodate SSH’s surgical procedures after April 30.
Congressman John Duarte and other federal representatives challenge CMS’s decision, not disputing the hospital’s allegations but arguing that the survey leading to this action was flawed and irregular. They contended that the hospital was not adequately provided the opportunity to rectify the identified deficiencies. The termination, effective April 30, also terminates Medi-Cal payments. Even with a follow-up survey completed in February which still found SSH non-compliant with Medicare’s prerequisites, the hospital received a verbal notice of termination only days before the formal written notice.
Local Stanislaus county officials, including chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, Mani Grewal, tend to favor the hospital being granted latitude to align with Medicare’s standards, pushing for a less harsh resolution. The SSH hospital, also owning Precision Imaging and a pain management center, has yet to disclose the potential duration of closure following Medicare’s withdrawal of payment.
Source: https://www.ems1.com/hospital/calf-hospital-faces-closure-after-removal-from-medicare-program