Sparrow Hospital prevails in accreditation challenge

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Sparrow Health System has overcome a risk to its accreditation for its flagship hospital on Michigan Avenue after three months of limbo.

The major Lansing hospital received a preliminary denial of accreditation on April 23 from the nonprofit Joint Commission for numerous inadequacies that in the accreditor’s view posed a threat to patient safety.

But a new report filing, dated July 19, shows Sparrow in compliance, without offering further details. The Joint Commission made several on-site inspections of the hospital, the last on July 3, as it worked to get its approval.

“All outstanding issues from our latest survey have been validated as resolved” by The Joint Commission “during their follow-up onsite visits,” said Sparrow spokesman John Foren. “Sparrow voluntarily participates in this triennial survey,” which he called “the gold standard in patient care and safety.  This process helps us to ensure that we are providing and maintaining the highest standards of care for every patient, every time.”

The unfavorable April report was the first Sparrow had received as far back as 2011, the oldest online records the Joint Commission posts.

Most notably, the commission reported the hospital failed to label some medications and failed to identify patients at risk of suicide and prepare for their needs accordingly.

Patient wait times for admission far exceeded the national median and the hospital was reportedly deficient in 48 areas as detailed in an accreditation quality report.

City Pulse was the first to report the bad news for Sparrow in early June, and the hospital responded by pulling the paper from circulation for a week at the hospital and the Michigan Athletic Club, a Sparrow facility.

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