Days before the federal government revoked Weiss Memorial Hospital’s Medicare access, state investigators found the hospital had been operating a “makeshift” emergency department in an office building that lacked the basic equipment and staff to properly care for patients, according to state records obtained by the Sun-Times.
Two doctors and a nurse interviewed by the Illinois Department of Public Health said the makeshift emergency room made it nearly impossible to treat patients because it lacked medications, oxygen supplies and monitoring equipment.
Three patients who came to the Uptown safety net hospital for treatment in late June and early July could not get the care they needed, the investigation found.
The nurse quit working at the hospital because of the “unsafe conditions in the makeshift ER,” according to the state records. And the emergency department’s medical director told state investigators they have “serious concerns regarding the patients in the [emergency department] receiving safe care.”
The medical director “stated that the hospital leadership lacks the awareness of the capabilities” of the emergency department, which the director said “is not safe for patients,” the report said.
The director, reached Wednesday night by the Sun-Times, disputed his statements quoted in the report and said the ER was safe for patients.
The hospital’s owner and CEO, Dr. Manoj Prasad, told the Sun-Times Tuesday the state approved the ER move and denied it was unsafe. He said the state’s findings related to patient care were “inaccurate,” but did not provide any proof refuting the investigation. He said the doctors interviewed by the state still “voluntarily” work at the hospital.
IDPH launched its investigation after the hospital’s air conditioning failed in June. The department confirmed on June 18 the hospital was experiencing “abnormally high temperatures” in several departments, with temperatures pushing 89 degrees in the intensive care unit and nearing 87 degrees in the emergency department.
The Illinois Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its findings. But a spokesperson told the Sun-Times late last week that the agency is “closely monitoring the situation at Weiss” and “is committed to ensuring patient safety and quality of care at healthcare facilities.”
After the air conditioning for the hospital failed to turn on, Weiss evacuated its entire inpatient unit on June 17. The following day, Prasad told reporters the emergency room was not impacted by the broken AC. At the time, the department stopped accepting ambulances, only walk-in patients.
“The only departments we have open in the main hospital is the emergency department,” Prasad said on June 18. “Our emergency room is fine.”
But according to the state’s report, the “makeshift” ER lacked a centralized oxygen source and ventilator hook-ups. The only X-ray machine in the emergency room wasn’t portable and couldn’t be brought to a patient’s bedside.
In one case, a patient came to the Weiss emergency room on July 3 experiencing severe seizures. Because the ER lacked supplies, nurses treating the patient had to repeatedly go to the hospital pharmacy for the patient’s seizure medications, records show.
That patient was also intubated and hooked up to a large oxygen tank in the “makeshift” ER. The ER staff couldn’t use an X-ray to check the breathing tube was placed right. Shortly after, the patient was transferred to another hospital.
Another patient came in on July 10 with most of their hand blown off by a firework. But the “makeshift” emergency room didn’t have a tourniquet. The doctor treating them had to use dressings and an ACE wrap to secure the wound before transferring the patient to a different hospital.
A third patient, who was vomiting blood and found lying on the floor of the hospital waiting room on June 24, was put on a portable cardiac monitor. But doctors told the state there was not enough staff to monitor their condition and they were transferred.
When the medical director, who had been locked out of the hospital’s system for reporting adverse events, reported their concerns to hospital leadership, the chief nursing officer said “2 cases out of 200 isn’t bad,” the report said.
The Sun-Times could not immediately reach the chief nursing officer.
The state’s investigation also found Weiss was not staffing enough supervising registered nurses or providing 24-hour nursing services. Investigators determined the hospital was not keeping current and accurate pharmacy records.
Weiss Hospital CEO says allegations ‘untrue’
In an email to the Sun-Times, Prasad said the state’s findings about the “makeshift” emergency room are “untrue,” and explained that it had the same resources as the main emergency room and was relocated with the health department’s approval.
He also denied the state’s findings about the hospital lacking adequate staffing, saying the state read the staffing grid incorrectly. He did not share documents confirming the emergency room had all the necessary supplies.
He said the emergency room has since moved to its original location with the state health department’s approval, but he did not clarify when it moved.
He also said the nurse who quit left because they were “unhappy due to other reasons,” but he did not say what those reasons were.
Prasad said three of the four AC systems are repaired and “IDPH is supportive of a phased re-opening of the facility however with hospital losing Medicare funding, the hospital is working on determining the best path forward.” He did not say how much of the hospital is currently operational. Employees were still working at the hospital Friday afternoon when a Sun-Times reporter visited.
The Illinois Department of Public Health did not immediately answer a request for comment on Prasad’s response.
The state reported its findings about safety at the hospital to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The federal agency said in a public notice the hospital isn’t complying with the agency’s requirements for nursing services, emergency services and physical environment.
The agency decided the Medicare program will stop making payments for inpatient hospital services for patients admitted on or after Aug. 9, the Sun-Times reported on Friday. Medicare payments total more than half of the hospital’s revenue, state records show.