CEO Leonard Hernandez said SRMC was erroneously listed in Medicare media report
by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Sumner Regional Medical Center CEO Leonard Hernandez said a media report that is circulating across state media news websites erroneously included SRMC on a list of medical facilities receiving a Medicare reimbursement penalty.
Leonard Hernandez
According to the report, 11 Kansas hospitals were supposedly among more than 700 nationwide that were being penalized for having high rates of infections patient injuries, leading to a 1 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements since the current fiscal year which began in October. SRMC was one of the 11 hospitals on the list.
However, Hernandez sent out a press release to Sumner Newscow with the following message:
“This e-mail contains an article that is appearing in newspapers all across Kansas. After reviewing the materials on Medicare.Gov, we have found that Sumner Regional Medical Center should not have been included in this list as they (Medicare) have the following quote attached to our facility for these measures. “This measure does not apply to this hospital for this reporting period.†We will be requesting in writing that SRMC be removed from the list based on this information.â€
The report stated that Medicare evaluated 51 Kansas hospitals, 40 of which were not penalized after scoring below 7 on a 10-point scale for hospital-acquired conditions. The hospitals won’t know the exact amount of their Medicare penalty for months because it is based on payments during the federal fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, The Hutchinson News reported (http://bit.ly/14yu2BT ).
The hospitals across the state were penalized, from suburban Kansas City to Coffeyville. Hospitals that provide specialized treatment, such as psychiatry or rehabilitation, or cater to particular patients, such as children or veterans, were exempt from the inspections. Small “critical access hospitals,” mainly in rural areas, also were exempt.
Medicare studied the frequency of central-line blood stream infections caused by tubes used to pump fluids or medicine in to veins and frequency of infections from tubes placed in bladders between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2013; and serious complications that occurred in the hospitals, such as collapsed lungs, surgical cuts, tears and reopened wounds and broken hips, between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2013.
The other hospitals besides SRMC that were listed were:: Overland Park Regional Medical Center, South Central Kansas Medical Center in Arkansas City, Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Miami County Medical Center in Paola, Saint John Hospital in Leavenworth, Kansas Heart Hospital in Wichita, the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Saint Luke’s South Hospital in Overland Park and Coffeyville Regional Medical Center.
