Mental hospital no longer in “jeopardy”

Colorado’s 449-bed mental hospital in Pueblo is no longer in “immediate jeopardy” of endangering patient safety or losing its federal funding, state human services officials said Friday.

The Colorado Department of Human Services, which oversees the state mental institution in Pueblo, received a letter Friday from federal regulators that relieved the hospital from the threat of losing federal funding next week.

Earlier this month, investigators from federal Medicare and Medicaid services said the hospital had a staffing shortage so severe it posed an “immediate and serious threat to the health and safety” of its patients. They gave the hospital until next Wednesday to fix the staffing problems.

Federal regulators visited the hospital Thursday and notified the state Friday that the immediate threat was lifted, said Nancy VanDeMark, state director of behavioral health.

The hospital for people who are committed by courts or found not guilty by reason of insanity had been placed on a 23-day “termination track” for failing to comply with federal regulations after inspectors found it did not meet conditions of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

To get out of “immediate jeopardy,” the hospital instituted mandatory overtime when replacement staff does not show up for work, four-day instead of three-day workweeks, and no new requests for vacation. State officials also planned a hiring event similar to speed dating and will pay referral and sign-on bonuses.

Though the threat of losing federal funding next week is lifted, the hospital’s status with the federal government is “conditional.” The mental institute has 90 days to comply with all federal requirements.

The Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, which includes geriatric and adolescent units, has suffered for years from staffing shortages, operating at times without the minimum number of staff needed to cover shifts and group therapy.

The hospital has more than 90 vacant positions, out of a full staff of 723.