McKee announces independent evaluation of Eleanor Slater Hospital

GOV. DANIEL J. MCKEE, shown in January, has announced an independent, peer review of the state's Eleanor Slater Hospital system. / COURTESY CAPITOL TV

PROVIDENCE – The state has ordered a two-month, independent review of the troubled Eleanor Slater Hospital, Gov. Daniel J. McKee announced Tuesday.

The assessment of clinical and operational programs at the state hospital will be conducted by the Hospital Association of Rhode Island and Care New England Health System, working with the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

In a statement, McKee said his administration is committed to making sure the hospital patients receive the quality of care they deserve and he promised to address “long-standing issues” at the hospital.

Eleanor Slater Hospital is a system of four hospital buildings in Burrillville and Cranston, and includes some of the state’s most vulnerable patients who have significant physical or psychiatric diagnoses.

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Prior to McKee becoming governor, a reorganization begun under former Gov. Gina M. Raimondo sought to streamline the services provided by Zambarano Hospital in Burrillville.

The move was instigated by a loss of federal funds.

When the federal government learned the state had admitted more people with mental illness diagnoses than was allowed under the Zambarano license, it ended Medicaid payments, a financial penalty that compelled Raimondo to consider the hospital reorganization.

This included the discharge of mentally ill patients, a move that A. Kathryn Power, the former director of the R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, said was intended to allow people to live in a less-restrictive environment, where appropriate. Her critics said she was releasing people into settings that were not capable of supporting them.

Power resigned last month. The department is now led by Womazetta Jones, the EOHHS secretary.

Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at MacDonald@PBN.com.

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