Medicare points out five key areas of concern at CHC

The Department of Public Health needs to address five key areas outlined by a recent five-day resurvey and inspection conducted on the Commonwealth Health Center by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez said among the concerns raised by Medicare are the storage of expired medical and pharmaceutical supplies and the failure of some nurses to follow standards and protocols, specifically for instructions on infections disease control as well as the needed repairs on some units and sections.

Compared to previous Medicare reports where it uncovered multiple violations and findings at the hospital, Villagomez is convinced that the hospital has shown many corrective measures that contributed to fewer “concerns” highlighted by Medicare team.

It was in January last year when Medicare investigated CHC and found serious deficiencies, resulting in the issuance of jeopardy status and the threat of terminating its provider agreement with the federal agency. Since then corrective measures were submitted and taken into action, according to Villagomez.

He revealed that based on the exit conference with the Medicare team last week, the hospital’s jeopardy status is expected to be lifted and may be issued an improved status.

“Overall, we did well [in the inspection]. But although there are things we corrected from the previous findings, Medicare highlighted that there are still five key areas that need to be improved and we’re in the process of correcting those,” he told Saipan Tribune.

The secretary pointed out that some of the findings and concerns raised by the Medicare team were directly related to budgetary issues such as the lack of needed supplies in the emergency room and laboratory.

He said the Medicare team emphasized that lack of funds should not hinder this requirement because supplies are considered a priority and should always be available for healthcare delivery.

As a result, the Department of Finance approved the acquisition of needed medical and laboratory supplies after paying unpaid obligations to CHC vendors.

“The supplies have been ordered and are coming in. Medicare clearly said that we should not run out of those important supplies,” said Villagomez.

The formal report for the inspection is expected from Medicare in two weeks’ time after the exit conference. Villagomez said “findings” are normal in every survey done in hospitals.

The secretary admitted that while financial issues impacted the Medicare findings, he pointed out that he’s more concerned about the lack of resources in the delivery of healthcare to people.

“If we don’t have the needed supplies, yes it impacts Medicare. But I am not too much concerned about impact on the Medicare inspection, but the impact of the lack of supplies on healthcare delivery,” he said.

Villagomez credited the hospital’s hard working staff and employees who made significant strides to make sure that CHC meets Medicare standards and demands.

He cited the “regular documentations” of hospital staffers as a big help during the Medicare inspection.

Villagomez also vowed to improve the line of communication among and between hospital units and staffers to address issues of expired medical and pharmaceutical supplies.

“This concern has to do with the communication between people handling supplies in the units and in the supply office. Proper procedures and policies are now in place to address those concerns,” he added.