NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's a stunning new development following that catastrophic medication mix-up last month at Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown that left four patients with severe injuries.
We've now learned both the Midtown hospital as well as Saint Thomas West are facing the possible loss of all Medicare funding.
It would be a huge blow that would likely force them to close.
WATCH: Both Saint Thomas hospitals face loss of Medicare funding after drug mix-up
It all stems from the drug mix-up. But more than that, it's because now three and a half weeks after that error, the hospital still apparently has not come up with a safety plan that has satisfied state and federal regulators.
"I have three children, all of them were born at the Midtown facility, Midtown Hospital. I was born there," state Representative John Ray Clemmons said.
The Nashville native, like many here, said he feels a deep personal connection to Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown. And news of the four patients who got the wrong medication injected into their spines last month at the hospital, leaving at least three of them paralyzed, was in a word, "Devastating."
Now comes news that could be potentially devastating not only to the Midtown location but also to its sister facility, Ascension Saint Thomas West.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also known as CMS, in a recent letter to the CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas, informed the hospital system that on September 18th, the provider agreement between the hospitals and the federal government "may be terminated."
That would mean that both hospitals would lose all Medicare funding, a huge source of revenue for medical providers.
"Losing that CMS approval is, would be, the worst possible scenario for any health care facility," Clemmons explained.
It turns out, Ascension Saint Thomas still has not been able to come up with a safety plan that meets the expectations of state and federal regulators.
As we have previously reported, after the drug mix-up, state investigators found three instances of what's known as "immediate jeopardy," meaning conditions at the hospital that put patients' lives in danger.
Investigators cited problems in the hospital pharmacy and surgery services, giving a long list of how and where the hospital failed to ensure patient safety, both before and after the drug mix-up.
Inspectors also blamed hospital leadership for creating "a culture of overall noncompliance."
But a week after the incident, Ascension Saint Thomas announced it was taking steps to ensure patient safety going forward.
And it described the three changes it was making, adding new "safety protocols" and "clinical safeguards."
But on that very same day, when Ascension Saint Thomas was trying to assure the public that the problems were being addressed and fixed, according to the state's inspection report, the hospital had already submitted three separate safety plans to regulators and all three were deemed "unacceptable" and without enough information to show that corrective steps had been taken to ensure patient safety.
The August 26th letter from CMS to Ascension Saint Thomas's CEO Dr. Shubhada Jagasia, that NewsChannel 5 Investigates obtained, is the first confirmation we've gotten that the hospital remains under immediate jeopardy because, weeks later, it still has not been able to come up with a satisfactory safety plan.
"I think people need to be assured that if they're going somewhere to receive care, that business is being handled the appropriate way, that there are not mistakes being made of this (a drug mix-up that severely injures four patients) magnitude. I think it's fair for the public to expect that," Clemmons shared.
Regulators have refused now for weeks to answer questions about whether the hospital had come into compliance yet, leaving many to wonder whether they should still seek care there.
Now facing the potential loss of Medicare funding, the future of both hospitals is in jeopardy. The Democratic lawmaker said he is worried.
"Look, we have too few hospitals in the city, in Tennessee. We have hospitals shutting down statewide. We can't afford to lose more health care providers in the city or in Tennessee. So we need to be doing everything we can to make sure that this hospital is able to provide the standard of care that the law requires," Clemmons said.
Again, September 18th is the deadline. We'll continue to follow this and let you know what happens next.
So how much money do the hospitals stand to lose if the Medicare funding is terminated?
According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly half of all hospitals' revenue comes from government programs.
We found the most recent figures the two hospitals shared with the state of Tennessee showed Midtown and Saint Thomas West got a combined nearly $470 million from Medicare in 2024.
On top of that, most commercial insurance plans require a facility to be CMS certified in order to stay in network.
And while the pharmacy errors were at Midtown, both hospitals face the possible loss in Medicare funding because under the CMS system, the two are considered one hospital system, with the Midtown location being a satellite facility of Saint Thomas West.
To read the full state report:
Tennessee State Health Facilities Commission Report on Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown mistake
PREVIOUS RELATED REPORTING:
Not all hospitals use their own pharmacies to prepare surgery drugs like Ascension Saint Thomas
State investigation into drug mix-up at Nashville hospital pharmacy finds multiple systemic failures
Woman paralyzed after drug mix-up in Nashville hospital pharmacy to begin intensive rehabilitation
Nashville hospital adds pharmacy safeguards after drug mix-up but why weren't they already in place?
If you or someone you know was affected by this medical mistake, I'd like to hear from you. Please email me at Jennifer.Kraus@newschannel5.com.
