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Parkland To Talk About Safety Audit

Parkland Hospital’s Board could have more to say today about an independent audit that found safety problems in 15 departments. KERA’s BJ Austin reports.

Parkland Interim CEO Thomas Royer discussed the audit in general terms at an earlier Board meeting. The problems red-flagged by the federally-mandated independent audit were not specifically discussed. The areas include food services, outpatient clinics, the pharmacy, the emergency room, catheterization lab and psychiatric services.

Details could not be released until the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reviewed and released the report by the independent consultants. A Parkland official says that release is expected before a special board meeting scheduled this morning.

Dr. Royer says hospital attorneys will decide if the report is privileged information, or gets released to the public.

Royer: We want to be transparent. I think they released a lot of the original CMS report. It’s on the website. I don’t think they would change at this point.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins believes the report, not matter how critical, should be released.

Jenkins: When it comes out, it needs to be fully owned by the Commissioners Court, by the staff at Parkland and the leadership at Parkland.

Jenkins says Parkland can be a great hospital, but first it must be a “safe” hospital.

Dr. Royer says Parkland has already made significant progress in many of the areas cited in the audit.

BJ Austin, KERA News

Former KERA reporter BJ Austin spent more than 25 years in broadcast journalism, anchoring and reporting in Atlanta, New York, New Orleans and Dallas. Along the way, she covered Atlanta City Hall, the Georgia Legislature and the corruption trials of Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.