Some laboratory services at Salem Memorial District Hospital are no longer being conducted following sanctions from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), SMDH shared Wednesday with a statement to The Salem News.
“As a result of recent staffing and technical problems in our on-site laboratory, Salem Memorial District Hospital has made the voluntary decision to temporarily cease a portion of our in-house laboratory services,” the statement began. “This interruption has interfered with some time-critical laboratory testing normally provided at our facility. These time-critical laboratory services affect emergency and in-patient services.”
SMDH’s action stems from a routine recertification survey earlier this year by DHSS which determined SMDH’s lab was not compliant with certain conditions of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988.
An Oct. 26 DHSS notice to SMDH obtained by The Salem News Friday details the survey was conducted Oct. 21, 2021. The notice states CLIA non-compliance was found in the areas of the lab’s analytic systems, laboratory director, technical supervisor and testing personnel.
“While it limits some of the services we can provide, our Emergency Medical services are open and capable of providing care,” the SMDH statement went on to say. “Those patients presenting to our Emergency Department, or our ambulance service, will be evaluated and treated by a medical professional. As always, patients requiring services that we currently cannot provide will be stabilized and transferred to the nearest facility that can provide the necessary services.
“Outpatient laboratory services are not affected. We are working diligently to restore all in-house laboratory services and expect to have the majority of these services available in the next few days. If there are changes or delays to this plan, we will update the community accordingly. We want our community to know if they are experiencing symptoms that are believed to require emergency medical care, please continue to present to Salem Memorial District Hospital or call 911 for your medical needs.”
When contacted by The Salem News Thursday, SMDH further stated it submitted a plan of correction to DHSS Nov. 19. This plan of correction has been revised as needed and as recently as Tuesday.
The SMDH lab has been functioning since the Oct. 26 letter was sent from DHSS, but “with some limitations,” according to the SMDH statement.
As far as the four conditions cited, SMDH is “doing everything possible to meet condition level requirements for each of the four conditions listed and to obtain compliance with all conditions required for certification in the CLIA program,” according to Thursday’s response. “To do so requires implementation of new software programs, additional training for staff members, updating of equipment and processes. This process will take some time and is not something that can be done overnight. Progress is being made daily.”
