Federal officials halt payments to Tulsa mental facility

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A federal agency will halt Medicare payments this week to a Tulsa psychiatric center for failing to meet minimum health and safety standards.

About one-third of inpatient funding at Parkside Hospital, the largest community-based mental health center in the Tulsa area, could be affected when the Health Care Financing Administration terminates its Medicare participation beginning Saturday.

A hospital receives notice of program cancellation when deficiencies are discovered, said Ellen Griffin, HCFA spokeswoman.

The hospital is then allowed to develop a plan to correct the problems.

"If the plan is acceptable, then the cancellation is rescinded, but the hospital will undergo continued monitoring by its state survey agency," she said.

A Jan. 5 review by the Oklahoma State Department of Health found deficiencies in 11 of 14 Parkside documents, said Bill McDonald, Parkside's acting chief executive officer.

Parkside was not in compliance with federal regulations dealing with specific patient screening provisions and patient transfer procedures, he said.

State employees forwarded the report to federal officials.

McDonald said Parkside employees made documentation errors because they were not completely familiar with new procedures put in place at the end of last year.

"After doing things a certain way for 10 years, you don't change things overnight," he said. "These program changes were only in place three weeks and had yet to undergo an internal monitoring process."

Parkside officials said they will reapply immediately for Medicare certification, which does not affect outpatient clients.

"We will continue to serve every one of our patients,"

McDonald said.

The cancellation comes in a string of troubles reported at Parkside, which is operated by the nonprofit Tulsa Psychiatric Center.

An organizational shakeup followed a two-week audit by the Department of Mental Health in August. Parkside must meet recommendations and requirements contained in the audit in order to retain a $10 million contract with the state.

McDonald said Parkside had achieved 93 percent compliance with those directives.