U.S. agency: St. Vincent Hospital not meeting standards of safe patient care

WORCESTER — A national accrediting agency determined Saint Vincent Hospital is not meeting some standards for safe patient care, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

In an email to the union provided by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, The Joint Commission said the hospital was "found to be non-compliant with applicable Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Conditions."

The Joint Commission is an independent non-profit that accredits more than 20,000 health care programs and organizations in the U.S.

A request for comment from St. Vincent was not immediately returned.

St. Vincent's accreditation is potentially in jeopardy, said the commission's email. The hospital must demonstrate evidence that it complies with proper standards of patient care in order to keep its accreditation.

“While it is encouraging to see independent investigators validate our concerns and our claims, the fact remains that nearly every day on nearly every shift, our administration continues to violate these safety standards, and other mutually negotiated contractual commitments designed to ensure safe patient care, which continues to cause preventable harm and unnecessary suffering for those under our care,” said a prepared statement from Marlena Pellegrino, co-chair of the nurses local bargaining unit with the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

“We can only hope all these agencies, who have a responsibility for holding hospitals accountable for keeping our patients safe, take immediate steps to end this suffering.”

The commission's email to the nurses association cited subpar staffing of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and their support staff.

Meanwhile, an independent arbitrator ruled a hospital nurse was unlawfully fired and must be reinstated, according to the nurses association. Marie Ritacco, who worked at the hospital for 40 years and served as a union leader, was terminated for her role in filing complaints against the hospital.

The nurses union quoted the arbiter's ruling as "an act of punishment and thinly veiled retaliation."

Besides the commission's investigation, the Telegram & Gazette has reported the state Department of Public Health is investigating the nurses complaints. Wednesday, the agency said that the investigation is ongoing.

Nurses file more than 600 complaints

The commission's investigation included an on-site review of the hospital Feb. 14, after some hospital nurses filed more than 600 complaints with state and federal agencies that claimed low staffing that compromised patient safety.

The complaints also said the hospital retaliated by firing and suspending nurses that went public with complaints. Some nurses resigned, claiming the hospital's staffing problems saddled them with caring for more than four patients at once. That level, said nurses, exceeds the contractual ratio agreed upon when the hospital and nurses reached agreement two years ago to end the longest nurses strike in state history of more than 300 days.

The union filed a charge of unfair labor practices and wants the terminations and suspensions reversed.

Last month, nurses delivered a petition to hospital management to demand that it fix problems including a staff shortage that nurses claim endangers patients' lives. Hospital leadership declined to meet with the handful of nurses who delivered the petition signed by 500 nurses at the hospital, said the union.

The hospital at the time called the accusations "unfounded."

St. Vincent is owned by for-profit Tenet Healthcare, based in Dallas. It also owns MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham and Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick.

Tenet reported a gross profit of $16.9 billion in 2023 with an operating income of $2.4 billion in the same year, according to online reports.

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Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Mass. agency: St. Vincent Hospital not meeting standards care