OLYMPIA – Western State Hospital’s plan to remove an immediate jeopardy issued Feb. 26 during hospital inspections by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been accepted by CMS.
In addition, CMS has extended the provider agreement termination date from March 1 to April 1.
The violation was issued after a patient at the hospital received incorrect medication. The error was reported to on-site surveyors by a WSH staff member. WSH administers 9,500 doses of medication daily.
“We’ve encouraged staff and leadership to be open and honest with the CMS teams,” said Carla Reyes, assistant secretary for the Department of Social and Health Services Behavioral Health Administration. “Transparency and honesty are critical to patient and staff safety and providing the best quality of care possible.”
CMS notified the hospital Monday, Feb. 29, that its plan to correct the way medications are administered was accepted and that the hospital is no longer in immediate jeopardy status.
The letter sent by CMS to WSH extending the termination date said, “To allow time to complete the current onsite revisit to verify compliance, this letter notifies you we are extending the termination date to April 1, 2016.”