The development likely does not bode well for the state mental hospital in Goldsboro.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services withdrew federal funding from Cherry last month following the death of one patient and the beating of another.

Ken Powers, a spokesman for the commission, said today the group is reviewing Cherry's accreditation based on both the federal finding and additional complaints regarding the quality of patient care at the state facility.

The results of the survey, which is still underway, will likely be known in about two weeks.

If the commission revokes Cherry's accreditation it could endanger the hospital's ability to bill private insurance for patient treatment. Cherry has already lost about $800,000 a month in Medicare and Medicaid payments.

A similar sequence of events transpired last year, after Broughton Hospital in Morganton lost its accreditation from both agencies following a patient death.

That state hospital regained federal funding in July, but has still not regained its accreditation from The Joint Commission.

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