Marymount Hospital.JPG
A portion of laboratory services at the Cleveland Clinic's Marymount Hospital in Garfield Heights have been voluntarily shut down in response to deficiencies cited by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to the hospital system. The action was voluntary.
(Evan MacDonald/Northeast Ohio Media Group)
CLEVELAND, Ohio-- The Cleveland Clinic has voluntarily shut down some of its laboratory services at Marymount Hospital in Garfield Heights in response to deficiencies cited by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), according to a hospital spokeswoman.
The hospital system would not disclose which services were halted on Friday, or if they would be reinstated. The hospital continues to operate at full capacity and will rely on lab services from the rest of the Clinic network, according to the spokeswoman.
"People can get the care they need," she said.
CMS could not be reached for comment.
CMS is a federal agency which, among other things, regulates all lab testing performed on humans in the U.S. outside research settings. CMS' Center for Clinical Standards and Quality is responsible for surveying and certifying about 251,000 labs nationwide.
Labs must be certified through CMS in order to receive Medicare or Medicaid payments.
The Clinic said Saturday evening that Marymount's lab was not suspended by CMS, nor was it under any CMS sanctions, but instead had voluntarily and temporarily chosen to discontinue some services.
The hospital's statement reads:
"Marymount Hospital is committed to the quality of our lab services. We have voluntarily discontinued a portion of lab services at Marymount Hospital for a period of time which is being supplied by other labs within our health system. Marymount Hospital continues to provide care for patients in the hospital, in our outpatient areas and in our emergency department."