Feds: Hospital put patients at risk, but problems addressed

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Montana’s publicly run psychiatric hospital in Warm Springs was close to losing an agreement with Medicare and Medicaid because of serious staff shortages and the facility’s physical environment, but federal officials changed their minds after the problems were addressed, a state health official said Friday.

Montana State Hospital’s noncompliance with federal regulations was deemed serious enough to risk death or injury to patients, and the agreement was set to be terminated Feb. 8, The Independent Record reported (https://goo.gl/aaYpc7 ).

Jon Ebelt, a spokesman for Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services, said Friday that surveyors found a shortage of nurses and direct care staff.

“The entire state of Montana is experiencing workforce shortages and the nation as a whole is experiencing a nursing shortage. Montana is no exception,” he said.

Since the problems were identified, the hospital has hired temporary staff and approved overtime for existing staff until a long-term solution is found. Ebelt did not know how many employees work at the hospital, how many are nurses and how many positions were empty.

Surveyors also found problems with the facility’s building, including sink faucets, mirrors, doors and door handles that aren’t designed for the safety needs of patients.

The hospital is working to correct all of the deficiencies that were found, Ebelt said.

The hospital has operated in some form since the 1870s as a place for the mentally ill, and it has struggled over the last several years with a growing patient population.

Lee Newspapers, which owns The Independent Record, has requested but not yet received the survey documents about the events that led to this week’s announcement, but a review of hundreds of pages of past inspections by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows inspectors have found the hospital out of compliance before.

In 2010, surveyors said the hospital did not justify the use of restraints for several patients and did not notify the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid about a patient who died after falling while in restraints.

Health officials say the problems were corrected.

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Information from: Independent Record, https://www.helenair.com