Pharmacy News Article

Mar. 6The N.C. Division of Health Service Regulators (DHSR) found a second incident during its three-day investigation at Wilson Medical Center that could also jeopardize the hospital's Medicare funding.

Investigators recommended the hospital be placed in "immediate jeopardy" to lose its Medicare certification, according to information released by the hospital Friday.

Immediate jeopardy status is when regulators believe a situation places patients at risk for injury, said Connie Rhem, hospital spokeswoman.

The second incident involved a patient who fell while staying at the hospital. Rhem said in an e-mail to The Wilson Times the patient suffered a minor abrasion to her head after the fall.

But the "immediate jeopardy" designation came about because hospital staff "failed to document corrective action."

Rhem said the hospital has already developed an initial corrective plan for the incident.

A DHSR team was at the hospital earlier this week investigating how the hospital handled an incident that happened in its emergency room Feb. 18, that resulted in four people injured.

Wilson Medical Center has given the state a corrective plan for the February incident as well.

Hospital officials have not made the plans public at this point but indicated more information may be released.

"We will continue to do what is necessary to satisfy DHSR requirements," Rhem said.

To see more of The Wilson Daily Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wilsondaily.com/.

Copyright (c) 2010, The Wilson Daily Times, N.C.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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