State Hospital denied federal certification again

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The federal government is denying certification for the Vermont State Hospital, citing physical problems and patient care lapses at the aging Waterbury psychiatric hospital.

In a report released Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rejected the hospital’s request to become eligible for federal reimbursement for programs at the 54-bed hospital, which was built in 1939.

Among the items blamed: failure to adequately guard against self-harming behavior by patients, a delay in response to the discovery of furniture screws a patient had pried loose and incomplete medical record documentation.

The hospital lost its certification from CMS in 2003, regained it briefly in 2004 and lost it again in 2005, making it ineligible to claim Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement and thereby get federal aid for operating costs.

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