OLYMPIA- Surveyors with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) left Western State Hospital (WSH) today, Friday, May 25, after concluding their review of the state’s largest psychiatric facility.
Twenty-two surveyors arrived at the hospital on Monday, May 14 to inspect wards, treatment plans, and to interview staff to ensure that 26 Conditions of Participation are being met – a requirement for the hospital to retain its federal certification.
During the survey, CMS issued a citation, known as an immediate jeopardy (IJ), to the hospital after discovering a concern with fire suppression equipment. The hospital developed a plan to mitigate the risk. Surveyors accepted the hospital’s plan and rescinded the IJ.
This visit was a follow up from the last official visit of CMS in early May 2017 and is a result of a Systems Improvement Agreement (SIA) between the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and CMS that began in June 2016. The agency entered into a second SIA in November 2017 – allowing DSHS additional time to continue forward progress at the hospital while retaining continued eligibility for federal funding.
“We look forward to seeing the CMS findings,” said DSHS secretary, Cheryl Strange. “The Western of today is steps beyond the hospital that surveyors saw two years ago when we first entered into the SIA with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. I am extremely proud of the improvements to patient care and patient safety made at the hospital.”
More information about the Systems Improvement Agreement is on the DSHS website.
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