BY PEPPER FISHER
Port Angeles – Olympic Medical Center has been granted a 5-week extension to the deadline that would have terminated their Medicare payments for noncompliance of two patient care standards.
Hospital staff learned on Thursday, August 14, the day before the previous deadline, that federal health officials will now give them until September 20 to remedy a couple of issues found in a routine state Department of Health (DOH) survey. The report found OMC non-compliant in the areas of Patient Rights and Nursing Services, which are required for Medicare-approved hospitals.
Termination of payments can be avoided if the hospital corrects the deficiencies and submits an acceptable plan of correction, verified by the DOH.
Last week, OMC’s Bobby Stone told KONP “During their recent visit, the Washington State Department of Health noticed significant improvements in our clinical documentation…We feel confident that remaining issues will be addressed during DOH’s next visit.”
This week, Stone told KONP, “We do not yet have our report from the Department of Health. We have 10 calendar days to respond to DOH with any needed Corrective Action Plans. We value continuous improvement. We will continue to work closely and diligently with our regulators on these surveys.”