A federal agency has issued a critical report about the Arizona State Hospital.
In June, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent a letter to the hospital threatening to terminate its Medicare provider agreement. In it, CMS said the hospital did not meet four Conditions of Participation during an investigation. The report contains detailed examples of those deficiencies.
The 67-page report found “serious deficiencies” during an onsite investigation, which took place between May 18 and May 26.
In one instance, a patient had sex with another in exchange for a soda. That’s just one of dozens of deficiencies found.
In the letter sent to the hospital, CMS wrote the “deficiencies substantially limit the hospital’s capacity to render adequate care to patients or are of such character as to adversely affect patient health and safety.”
A health department spokesperson was unavailable for comment, but a plan of correction has been submitted to CMS for review.
At least six top administrators have left the department in the last month, including Arizona Department of Health Services Interim Director Cory Nelson and the hospital’s former CEO Donna Noriega.
