Salem, Ore. – After four overlapping surveys and more than 12 months, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has ruled Oregon State Hospital (OSH) has made significant patient safety and quality improvements and is now in substantial compliance, no longer slated to lose CMS certification.
“The hospital is a foundational component of our behavioral health continuum of care. And our hospital staff care for patients suffering from the highest acuity, patients who are often forgotten or misunderstood by the rest of society,” said Sejal Hathi, M.D., MBA, director of Oregon Health Authority. “While there is still much work to do, this milestone is a testament to the ongoing commitment of our hospital staff to fostering and ensuring a safe and therapeutic setting where all patients can thrive.”
Representatives of CMS resurveyed OSH the week of Oct. 7 to evaluate the hospital’s implementation of Plans of Correction related to four separate investigations. Based on their findings, CMS issued a letter rescinding its termination action and returning the hospital back into its normal cycle of surveys.
“OSH remains committed to ensuring a safe and therapeutic environment for our patients, and we’ve already started work to address continuity in our implementation,” said Sara Walker, M.D., OSH interim superintendent and chief medical officer. “OSH staff care deeply about our patients and each other, and they’ve been instrumental in making effective changes across the hospital.”
The hospital will continue to implement and audit its prior plans of correction to ensure progress, as well as to address all standard-level CMS deficiencies, which do not require plans of correction, in its commitment to ongoing improvement. OSH has contracted with The Chartis Group, a leading health care regulatory advisory firm, to help the hospital develop and implement strategies to ensure continued quality improvement.
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