Eleanor Slater Hospital has moved one step closer to regaining its full accreditation.
The troubled state-run hospital’s status has been updated to accreditation pending a follow-up survey in about six months, according to a recent letter to the hospital’s state regulator from The Joint Commission, a national nonprofit that accredits hospitals. The latest decision places Eleanor Slater one step below full accreditation, according to the commission’s website. The follow-up survey is “required within six months to assess sustained compliance,’’ the website states.
Eleanor Slater, which has campuses in Burrillville and Cranston, serves as Rhode Island’s hospital of last resort for patients with complex medical and psychiatric needs.
In mid-June, The Joint Commission found conditions at Eleanor Slater that posed risk of an “immediate threat to health or safety,’’ and issued a preliminary denial of accreditation. (The Joint Commission’s full accreditation report.)
The change in Eleanor Slater’s accreditation status was made “after careful consideration and upon review of your organization’s August 26-27, 2021 validation survey,’’ The Joint Commission said in its Sept, 2 letter to Richard Charest, director of the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals. No further details of the review were provided.
Gov. Dan McKee referenced the letter about Eleanor Slater’s accreditation status during a weekly news briefing Tuesday. McKee also said that the state is expected to be able to resume billing the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Eleanor Slater Hospital is paid for primarily through Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for low-income and disabled residents. Rhode Island has not billed Medicaid for services at Eleanor Slater since August of 2019, after concerns were raised about improper billing. State officials have said that the lack of federal Medicaid funding has cost the state some $200 million. The state was granted permission to resume billing Medicaid in May 2021, but has so far not resumed billing for Medicaid claims.
McKee said Tuesday that he expects Rhode Island will be able to recoup some of the money retroactively, though he said how much remains unclear.
Health reporter Lynn Arditi can be reached at larditi@thepublicsradio.org. Follow her on Twitter @LynnArditi.
