HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico Doctors’ Hospital was not fined by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) after an inspection found they failed to prevent abuse and control an infection outbreak in their NICU.
VDH does not have the authority to levy fines against hospitals at all, and CMS does not have the statutory authority to fine a hospital for health and safety noncompliance.
Dominique Hackey, whose son Noah’s leg was fractured inside the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital NICU in September 2023, said he believes that needs to change.
“These institutions need to be able to be held accountable for when they’re not doing things right,” Hackey said.
Former NICU nurse Erin Strotman is currently facing charges related to Hackey’s son and several other babies who were injured in the NICU.
The health department cited the hospital for failing to prevent abuse or protect patients from abuse and neglect, as well as for failing to control the outbreak of the antibiotic-resistant infection, MRSA, in its NICU for over three years that infected 94 babies.
But, neither VDH or CMS have the authority to fine the hospital for the failures.
“That’s unacceptable. The delegates, the representatives, they need to get involved. At this point it’s too much. Too many systemic failures impacting lives. It needs to stop,” Hackey said.
Comparatively, CMS does have the authority to issue monetary penalties on nursing homes for health and safety noncompliance, and the Virginia legislature just passed legislation to allow VDH to fine nursing homes.
“Do you think the state should have the ability to impose a fine, a financial fine, if they find wrongdoing or a deficiency?” CBS6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit asked Hackey.
“One thousand percent,” he replied. “They need to come up with laws, regulations that hold these institutions accountable.”
CBS 6 asked Delegate Rodney Willett (D-58th District), who represents the part of Henrico County where Henrico Doctors’ Hospital is located, if he thought the state should have the power to impose fines on hospitals.
He said the state and federal government already have mechanism in place to hold a hospital accountable for health and safety issues.
VDH can pull a hospital’s license, and CMS can deny Medicare and Medicaid payments.
“I think there are plenty of sticks out there, plenty of enforcement mechanisms that can be used,” Willett said.
When asked if the state should have the ability to impose a measure that provides accountability but is not as punitive as pulling a license or denying Medicare and Medicaid payments, which would effectively shut down a hospital, Willet said “that is absolutely an absolutely true point."
But added, “I can’t speak for all hospitals, but I can speak for Henrico Doctors’ Hospital just because I’ve had so many conversations with their leadership. I think any threat to accreditation, to licensure, to funding absolutely gets their attention, and I think that in itself is significant. That’s not to say that we, as a legislature, just like we did with nursing homes, couldn’t revisit the fines, I just don’t know in this context where that would get us. But I wouldn’t say that is absolutely precluded from consideration. I just want to emphasize how many options we have right now.”
Other states do give their health departments the ability to fine hospitals for health and safety issues, to include South Carolina and New York.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky| Facebook| Instagram| X| Threads| TikTok| YouTube
