Officials at Parkland Memorial Hospital signed on Tuesday an agreement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that will allow the Dallas hospital to remain open while it attempts to correct deficiencies that threatened its closure.
Ron Anderson, the hospital system's embattled CEO, and John Dragovits, its executive vice president and CFO, signed the 11-page systems improvement agreement. The SIA, which is effective September 30th, will be in place for up to 19 months.
According to a statement posted on the Parkland website, the hospital "remains open, fully licensed and accredited during the term of the agreement."
In a letter to Anderson, CMS officials confirmed that under the terms of the SIA, a determination on Parkland's Medicare and Medicaid funding is on hold.
The systems improvement agreement requires Parkland Memorial Hospital to contract with an external, third-party, CMS-approved quality improvement consultant to perform a full-scale analysis of the hospital's operations. Those findings are to be compared with industry standards to ensure compliance with the conditions of participation for Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requirements related to the timely provision of care and services.
The contractor is to work with the hospital to develop a written plan outlining what specific actions Parkland must take to return to full compliance with the Medicare conditions of participation.
In addition, the hospital must contract with nationally recognized experts to develop and implement a quality assessment and performance improvement program. It also must hire a full-time, independent, on-site compliance officer to provide oversight and coordination of Parkland's efforts to return to compliance.
In an e-mail to HealthLeaders Media on Wednesday night, Bob Moos, a CMS spokesperson for the Dallas region, said Parkland has 45 days to provide CMS with a list of potential consultants. He added that another full survey of the Parkland facility will be scheduled for six months to a year from now. If there are "substantial compliance findings" the term of the SIA could be shortened.
"We welcome this opportunity to work in partnership with CMS. Our goal, along with CMS, is to return Parkland to deemed status and full compliance with all of CMS' regulatory standards. That's our responsibility to our patients and to the people of Dallas County," said John Jay Shannon, MD, Parkland's executive vice president and chief medical officer in a press statement.
See Also:
CMS Compromise Gives Parkland Reprieve
Immediate Jeopardy at Parkland Puts VBP Incentive Pay in Peril
Parkland: Leadership Change Unrelated to Report of Deficiencies
Parkland Hospital Audits Raise Troubling Questions
Margaret Dick Tocknell is a reporter/editor with HealthLeaders Media.
