West Central Georgia Hospital in Columbus is determined to stay open, despite a warning by federal regulators that it could lose money over poor patient conditions.
Hospital officials say they're embarking on – in their words – an, “aggressive action plan” to take on staff and improve conditions.
An official at The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told GPB News that West Central's patients are in "immediate jeopardy" unless the hospital makes immediate changes.
To that end the hospital's holding a job fair, and hopes to double their nursing staff to 36 by the June 16rd deadline.
Kenya Bello, a spokesperson with the Department of Human Resources that runs the facility, says they'll make the grade:
“We have an aggressive action plan, and we will be in compliance with the federal requirements in the time frame that they have requested, and we expect that that will take place.”
Police earlier took a hospital patient into custody, in connection with the beating death of another patient in May. Bellow wouldn't comment on the case, saying it was still under investigation.
