RICHMOND, Va. — The federal government shutdown late last year enabled the Virginia Department of Health to make some progress addressing a massive backlog of overdue hospital inspections, but 98 percent of required biennial inpatient hospital inspections are still behind schedule.
State law requires VDH to inspect hospitals every two years to ensure things like proper infection control and sterilization procedures for contaminated supplies. However, as CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit exclusively reported in September, nearly all inspections were overdue at that time.
Five months later, the situation remains largely unchanged for inpatient hospitals, according to VDH spokeswoman Maria Reppas. The number of backlogged biennial inpatient hospital inspections is virtually unchanged, with 98% still overdue compared to 99% in September.
The state did make significant progress with outpatient surgical hospital inspections, reducing overdue inspections from 95% to 26%. Reppas said the federal government shutdown allowed VDH to temporarily redirect available resources to carry out state licensure inspections.
During that timeframe, VDH'S Office of Licensure and Certification found violations at outpatient hospitals, including a nurse aide working at a Richmond-area surgery center with a license that expired in 2011 and expired medications.
"My message to the state is get it together because the public depends on you to make sure we are safe," Shawnphyl Chambers, whose daughter contracted MRSA in a hospital NICU, told us in September.
Delegate Rodney Willett (D-Henrico) called the situation "unacceptable."
VDH’s OLC has struggled with leadership instability in the division overseeing hospital inspections. The full-time director position had been vacant since 2022 before being filled in November, but that person resigned one month later to "pursue another opportunity,” according to VDH. The position is open again.
In September, then-Chief Operating Officer Christopher Lindsay said VDH was working to staff up resources to be proactive with surveys and moving forward with recruitment and retention.
Reppas said ongoing staffing challenges coupled with an increase in high-priority hospital complaints requiring immediate response have limited the OLC's capacity to conduct proactive inpatient hospital inspections.
VDH says it's continuing to intensify efforts within available budgetary, staffing and time constraints to meet regulatory responsibilities and protect patient safety.
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