Beth LeBlanc

Port Huron Times Herald

St. John River District Hospital is confident it will be in compliance with federal requirements before its Medicare contract is terminated May 7.

Brian Taylor, a spokesman for the hospital, said the hospital does not anticipate any interruption in care for its patients.

"We want to assure the community that we will continue to provide quality care to those in the community we serve," Taylor said in an e-mail. "The hospital has re-emphasized its commitment to our patients and has provided the staff with additional education and training as well as increased monitoring to ensure that our patients are safe and receive the best possible care and treatment."

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services terminated a Medicare contract with St. John River District Hospital after the agency alleged the hospital didn’t follow proper procedure to prevent a patient’s suicide.

An April 14 letter to the hospital said, starting May 7, the federal government will not make payments for services and treatments given to Medicare patients.

The letter states the hospital is not in compliance with patients rights requirements.

“We have determined that the deficiencies are so serious they constitute an immediate threat to patient health and safety,” the letter reads. “In addition, a number of deficiencies were found in other Medicare requirements.”

Taylor said the hospital is confident CMS will find it in compliance when the agency resurveys the facility prior to May 7, ceasing the proposed CMS action.

“In keeping with our commitment to providing our patients with the safest and highest quality of care, we have submitted a plan of correction to CMS to resolve the issue,” Taylor said in an e-mail.

Study: Area hospitals need to improve patient safety

The CMS letter to St. John River District said the Medicare termination process would be halted if corrections were made at the hospital.

An attachment to the letter sent to St. John River District said the hospital failed to maintain a safe environment, properly monitor a suicidal patient, and follow policies and procedures for suicide prevention.

According to the report, a 36-year-old woman committed suicide Jan. 8 while at the hospital. The letter said the patient had been admitted for suicidal thoughts and a physician placed an order for “suicide precautions” related to the woman’s care.

She was placed in an observation room with a “window easily visible to staff,” but she continually pulled the curtains shut, the report said. The woman eventually committed suicide.

The CMS report said the woman was admitted as being at risk for suicide, but the hospital failed to follow policies and procedures for suicide prevention.

Contact Beth LeBlanc at 810-989-6259 or eleblanc@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @THBethLeBlanc.