After the discovery of the infants exposure to TB(turberculosis), state and federal officials say the facility has been placed on track to lose crucial funding if it does not take corrective action. As of today, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services advised that Providence Memorial Hospital's Medicare funding after the an investigation by the Department of State Health Services last week "cited the hospital for deficiencies that represent immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety," advised department spokeswoman Carrie Williams. The hospital has been given until Oct. 11 to fix the problems or it risks losing federal money that is keeping it's doors open.
The outbreak occurred when a test confirmed a healthcare worker who works in postpartum and the nursery with newborn babies had an active case of tuberculosis. The worker tested positive on Aug. 25. The hospital conducts annual TB screenings on employees, but officials believe the infected worker contracted the disease after their most recent screening.
From an email on Monday, Williams said, "This is one of the largest TB exposure investigations we've ever been involved in, and it involves infants, so this is particularly sensitive."
I chose to discuss this article because as a mother it hit home, and to know that more than 700 infants as well as other health care works had been exposed to this "highly contagious and deadly disease!"
