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Parkland Memorial Hospital, the Dallas County-run hospital, has had a rough go of it the past few years: the psych patient dying after being illegally restrained; the tainted vaginal instruments; the resident whose sexual assault of a patient was swept under the rug; the federal government's declaration that the hospital "has caused or is likely to cause serious injury, harm, impairment or death to a patient." As if that wasn't enough, The Dallas Morning News spent the year pounding on the hospital with series of scathing editorials and in-depth investigative pieces.
It's high time for a dollop of good news, which arrived today: After two years facing a hospital-shuttering loss of federal funds, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have given the all clear. In a letter to hospital administrators today, the agency declares Parkland to be in "substantial compliance" with federal regulations.
"Parkland is where it needs to be," said David Wright, deputy regional director for the U.S. CMMS, told the Morning News. "They've put themselves in a position to provide sustainable safe care."
In other words, the feds no longer think a trip to the hospital will be detrimental to your health, which counts as a ringing endorsement given recent history. Just as important, the announcement gives Parkland the freedom to focus on other things, like convincing the public to go along with that Calatrava-style arch over Harry Hines.
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