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April 16 2004Survey finds deficienciesSpokesman: None of it relates to patient careByRecord-Eagle staff writer PETOSKEY- A state and federal probe of Northern Michigan Hospital found significant deficiencies in the facility's physical environment, infection control and patient rights areas. NMH officials have 10 days to submit a plan to correct the problems, or the hospital won't receive Medicare payments for patients admitted on or after July 11, said Robert Daly of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Chicago, in a letter to NMH president and CEO Thomas Mroczkowski. Hospital officials said they'll offer correction plans they believe will satisfy regulators. A large-scale survey of NMH practices was conducted in March, after a December survey of infection-control practices at the hospital found deficiencies. The March survey uncovered problems including incomplete patient records, fire safety code violations, insufficient instrument sterilization equipment and procedures, and a lack of adequate follow-up on patient grievances. NMH spokesman Thomas Spencer said hospital officials were aware of most problems and had already corrected or were working to correct them. "There's absolutely nothing in the findings that relates to care received by NMH patients," he said. "Everything in there is related to policy, procedure, paperwork, documentation and things as simple as emergency exits not being lighted properly." T.J. Bucholz, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health, disagreed, calling the problems "very significant." "They can say whatever they would like to say; they can obfuscate the issue," Bucholz said. "The bottom line is, this report points out significant deficiencies that must be addressed immediately." After receiving a corrective action plan, authorities will inform NMH if it's sufficient, Daly said. State Bureau of Health Systems inspectors will revisit the hospital to determine if the plan is being followed. The survey is the sixth conducted at NMH since nurses went on strike in November 2002. "The hospital has endured tremendous scrutiny since the start of the labor dispute," Spencer said. "When so many outside professionals are looking at your operations, you can't help but improve. This is making us a better, stronger organization." Bucholz said he could not recall a hospital in Michigan losing its Medicare participation. "I think that's partially because when we put it on the line in a letter - 'have a plan of corrective action to us within 10 days or lose your Medicare participation' - that makes hospitals stand up and take notice," he said.
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