NHRMC leaders address CMS report in press conference
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) – Novant Health leaders respond to a report highlighting issues the at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHNHRMC) during a press conference on Wednesday.
An investigation was prompted after a patient died in the emergency room earlier this year, it’s a story you saw first on WWAY.
NHNHRMC leaders addressed the report’s findings, and what they’ve done to address the problems at the medical facility.
President of NHNHRMC Shelbourn Stevens addressed the media first.“We understand several of you have questions about one particular patient,” he said.That patient was a woman in her 70’s who died in the lobby of the emergency room while waiting for care.According to the report, the woman, who had a history of cancer, complained of vomiting and weakness, and was unable to stand.The report shows the woman, referred to as patient #7, was not re-assessed in a timely manner, per Novant’s triage policy, something the Director of Nursing Christy Spivey addressed in Wednesday’s news conference.“What I can tell you is that there was education provided that would highlight, or be similar to what we’re talking about here,” said Spivey. The findings reveal the woman’s last documented blood pressure entry was nearly five hours after the last reading, which was 87/53, she then was pronounced dead on June 7, five hours and 29 minutes after arriving at the hospital’s emergency room.A 53 old-man, referred to as patient #8, was also mentioned in the report.“Those issues around chemical restraint had more to do with documentation than they had to do with the use there of,” said ER Medical Director Dr. De Winter“It was not about the use of the medication, chemical restraints are used for the safety of the patients and staff,” said Novant’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr. West Paul.
The investigation was conducted June 21 through June 29 and determined Novant’s compliance with Medicare conditions between June 6th and June 20 were an “immediate jeopardy to patients”.
According to Novant, since the report has been completed, they have been able to reduce EMS wait times from 80 minutes down to 30 minutes.
A letter from CMS to Novant, dated August 22, indicates that the hospital’s “deemed status” has been restored.That means the hospital is in compliance with health and human services standards… and will not be subject to any further disciplinary action.
