From: BEEBECKER@...
Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 17:07:45 EDT
Subject: OR-Hosp Stops Admissions; Pt Died Of Cardiac Arrest While No Doctor Was Avail
To: BEEBECKER@...

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/dailydose/2006-05-17_dailydose.html#ts4

Ore. doc-owned hospital stops admitting patients

Physician's Hospital, Portland, Ore., has stopped admitting patients and is at risk of losing its government funding once again after failing to satisfy state and federal regulators. The 39-bed, physician-owned hospital has been under the microscope since last July when a patient died of cardiac arrest while no doctor was available to respond. Federal inspectors announced this week that the hospital will be barred from receiving Medicare and Medicaid payments on May 26 unless it corrects remaining deficiencies. The hospital also may have to refund some federal payments because of a dispute over whether it accepted the payments in violation of a moratorium on such payments to new physician-owned specialty hospitals.

A spokeswoman said the hospital will continue to provide some outpatient services while correcting problems and working to complete its sale to an unnamed, out-of-state company. The current owners reopened the former Woodland Park Hospital in December 2004 and became certified under Medicare in January 2005. Authorities suspended the hospital from serving Medicare and Medicaid patients in February 2006, citing deficiencies that put patients' health and safety in jeopardy. The CMS lifted the restriction in March but had given the hospital 90 days to resolve five remaining deficiencies. -- by Laura B. Benko