Parkland Hospital in Dallas has passed a critical federal inspection of mandated patient care and safety improvements.
Two years ago, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found serious problems in several areas of the public hospital. Inspectors said conditions in the emergency department and infection control threatened patient safety.
Parkland agreed to outside monitoring and a lengthy, detailed correction plan. The hospital was in danger of losing Medicaid and Medicare funding -- about half of its annual budget -- if it failed the final inspection.
David R. Wright, with the federal agency, says Parkland has done the work it needed to do and is "in the best position to have a sustainable culture of patient safety."