In the ongoing debate over Mission Hospital and its parent company, HCA, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has been a vocal critic.
In a visit to Asheville on Tuesday, Stein, a Democrat who is running for governor, spoke about his lawsuit against HCA over patient care.
During a roundtable with reporters, Stein said he is “gravely concerned” about conditions at Mission Hospital and will continue to vigorously pursue his lawsuit against HCA, which purchased Mission in 2019.
A recent report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services detailed multiple safety issues at the hospital that in some cases led to patient death. Stein said his lawsuit included similar situations.
“I mean, there were some in our lawsuit that were deeply troubling, about coming into the ED and sitting at the ED, not able to get into a bed, but sitting in filth, being ignored for hours on end, falling off the chair and banging their head," he said. "There are stories that are unacceptable for a hospital of the quality of Mission.”
HCA submitted a plan of correction to federal authorities. Late last week, an HCA spokeswoman said the hospital is back in compliance. Stein said that doesn’t deter his legal action.
“And so, CMS is going to obviously keep a very close eye on what’s going on at the hospital. That does not determine our lawsuit," he said "Getting to some minimum standard is not going to satisfy what we believe HCA committed to when it purchased Mission."
Stein said his “greatest fear” is that HCA will throw resources at the immediate problem, only to backtrack after a short period of time.
“Well, what I don’t want them to do is to get to a place where they are doing fine for a period of one, two or three months, or however long, and then immediately fall back to the poor quality of care they were providing before," he said. "That’s why a court order is very important.”
Stein was asked whether he himself would go to Mission Hospital as a patient.
"Well, it all depends on what the need was and how urgent it was. Yes. I mean, it is a quality hospital – certainly has been, historically...Yeah, let's just get to the point where no one has to ask themselves that question, because that's what it should be," he said.
An HCA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As part of the purchase agreement in 2019, an independent monitor provides oversight of the hospital. The monitor is holding a listening session Wednesday night, Feb. 28, at 5:30 p.m. at the Yancey Public Library.
