CMS To Cite King/Drew for Nursing, Maintenance Issues

After a four-day review of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, CMS inspectors plan to cite the public hospital for ongoing problems in nursing care and physical maintenance, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services officials said Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports. CMS inspectors said that that King/Drew would remain eligible to receive federal funding provided that it addresses such issues. Steven Chickering, a manager for the San Francisco CMS office, said that inspectors found deficiencies in King/Drew's "physical environment and nursing," but he declined to provide additional information until the report is formalized. The inspectors will give King/Drew and county DHS officials a final written report by mid-June. Fred Leaf, county DHS chief operating officer, wrote in a memo to the county Board of Supervisors and other officials, "While today's exit conference contained good news, it is clear that there is significant work still to be done." County DHS spokesperson John Wallace said in a statement that the problems cited by CMS "are things that are within the control of the department to turn around" (Weber, Los Angeles Times, 5/22).