Central Maine Medical Center is working with consulting firm The Greeley Company to correct deficiencies to meet a federal deadline at the end of the month.
The Lewiston hospital submitted a “plan of correction” to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after the federal agency identified safety and quality issues.
CMMC chief quality officer Dr. John Alexander says the use of the Massachusetts-based consultant is part of the hospital’s plan of correction.
[Lewiston hospital in danger of losing Medicare and Medicaid funding]
“In this case, we brought them in specifically so they can help us with our emergency services, some of our inpatient services,” he says.
Alexander says the improvements include the use of care facilitators who provide real-time feedback to physicians, nurses and other providers.
“That’ll continue until we’re confident that we have really all the improvements that we need to make sure that our patients are receiving safe and high-quality care,” he says.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services surveyed the hospital in response to patient complaints, including one instance in which a patient in the emergency room with a spinal injury was paralyzed.
CMMC has until June 30 to make corrections or lose federal funding.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.