NC attorney general latest to question patient care, access at Wilson hospital
The state attorney general’s office wants the company running Wilson County’s embattled hospital to respond to allegations of declining patient care — including practices that could violate federal law.
The N.C. Department of Justice is “extremely concerned” about the ability to access quality care at Wilson Medical Center, North Carolina Assistant Attorney General Llogan Walters wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to Nashville-based LifePoint Health. The only hospital in Wilson County, the facility is located about an hour east of Raleigh and licensed for about 300 beds.
“Since 2014, Wilson Medical Center has reportedly reduced its capacity to care for patients by decreasing the number of available beds for inpatient care,” Walters wrote in the letter, obtained by The News & Observer through a records request. “Given the health care needs of the local community, a potential decrease in the care Wilson Medical Center provides is especially concerning.”
Walters’ letter also notes allegations of chronic understaffing, a decrease in the treatment of low-income patients and the effective denial of care for patients who can’t pay for essential treatment.
“Specifically, complaints have alleged that Wilson Medical Center has failed to admit or prematurely released uninsured patients at a higher rate than insured patients. This alleged practice limits the care provided to less wealthy patients,” Walters wrote.
Such a practice would violate the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, a 1986 law that requires hospitals to treat patients needing emergency care, including those in labor, regardless of their financial status. Federal regulators have confirmed an ongoing investigation into possible EMTALA violations at the Wilson hospital, a finding that could result in substantial fines and the termination of its Medicare contract.
Walters’ letter to LifePoint Health, owned since 2018 by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, directs the company to provide documents related to the reduction of inpatient beds, changes in indigent care and staffing measures within 10 days.
In a statement, Wilson Medical Center spokesperson Melanie Raynor said the hospital “looks forward to responding to the request from Assistant Attorney General Walters as we are confident that all conditions of our transaction are being met.”
“Wilson Medical Center’s partnership with Duke LifePoint Healthcare has been positive for our hospital, our community and the many people we serve,” Raynor said in the statement. “Duke LifePoint has helped Wilson Medical Center advance care delivery locally, improve the high-quality care we provide, continue our commitment to caring for those who cannot afford to pay for care, invest significantly in our services and facility and be a great partner to our region.
But the hospital has been under regulatory scrutiny for months after state inspectors on-site declared that serious problems at the facility were putting the health and safety of patients in “immediate jeopardy.” The finding was prompted, in part, by the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two patients in early 2021.
State surveyors have removed the “immediate jeopardy” label after revisiting the facility, although Wilson Medical Center leaders are still working to comply with federal rules that will their Medicare contract stays intact.
A spokesperson for the state Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that inspectors were back on-site at the facility again this week.
The letter from the attorney general’s office Tuesday, however, signals a wholly separate inquiry into the hospital, this time related to its 2014 acquisition by Duke Lifepoint. When it took over the independent hospital, the joint venture between LifePoint and Duke Health promised to keep providing similar care to the community, including low-income patients.
As long as Duke LifePoint kept that promise, the attorney general’s office said in a February 2014 review of the deal, the agency’s consumer protection division didn’t object.
But if the complaints received by his office are accurate, Walters wrote, that would violate the company’s legal commitments.
And that could put Duke LifePoint’s control of Wilson Medical Center at risk.
Under state law, corporate takeovers of community hospitals must still result in “the same or similar clinical hospital services,” and the facility is still required to care for low-income patients. If they don’t, the deal could be subject to a so-called “reverter clause” that would transfer the facility back to its original owners.
Emily Serck, a spokesperson with LifePoint Health, said the company plans to share the requested information with the attorney general’s office and is “confident that all the conditions of the transaction are being fulfilled.”
“LifePoint Health is proud of our Duke LifePoint Healthcare partnership with Wilson Medical Center and all that we have been able to achieve together with the hospital’s team over the last eight years,” she said in a statement late Tuesday night.
Asked about the attorney general’s office letter Tuesday, Duke Health spokesperson Sarah Avery said in a statement that although the university health system “shares consultative expertise with Wilson Medical Center on best practices for patient safety and quality,” it’s not involved in daily operations.
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 6:00 AM.