ER Inspector SPARKS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTERSPARKS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

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Updated September 19, 2019

This database was last updated in September 2019. It should only be used as a historical snapshot.Researchers can find more recent data on timely and effective care in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ hospitals datasets and guidance about hospital regulations.

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ER Inspector » Arkansas » SPARKS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

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SPARKS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

1001 towson avenue, fort smith, Ark. 72902

(479) 441-4000

66% of Patients Would "Definitely Recommend" this Hospital
(Ark. Avg: 71%)

1 violation related to ER care since 2015

Hospital Type

Acute Care Hospitals

Hospital Owner

Proprietary

ER Volume

Very high (60K+ patients a year)

See this hospital's CMS profile page or inspection reports.

Patient Pathways Through This ER

After a patient arrives at the emergency room, they are typically seen by a doctor or medical practitioner and then either sent home or admitted to the hospital and taken to a room. A small percentage of patients leave without being seen. The chart below shows on average how long each of these pathways take. Lower numbers are better, and all times refer to the average length of time people waited.

Arrives at ER
2% of patients leave without being seen
4hrs 52min Admitted to hospital
7hrs 10min Taken to room
2hrs 3min Sent home

All wait times are average.

Detailed Quality Measures

Here is a more in depth look at each quality measure, compared to state and national averages for hospitals with very high ER volumes. Experts caution that very small differences between hospitals for a given measure are unlikely to correspond to noticeable differences in the real world.

Measure
Average for this Hospital
How this Hospital Compares

(to other hospitals with similar
ER volumes, when available)

Discharged Patients
Time Until Sent Home

Average time patients spent in the emergency room before being sent home (if not admitted).

2hrs 3min
National Avg.
2hrs 50min
Ark. Avg.
2hrs 43min
This Hospital
2hrs 3min
Impatient Patients
Left Without
Being Seen

Percentage of patients who left the emergency room without being seen by a doctor or medical practitioner.

2%
Avg. U.S. Hospital
2%
Avg. Ark. Hospital
3%
This Hospital
2%
Admitted Patients
Time Before Admission

Average time patients spent in the emergency room before being admitted to the hospital.

4hrs 52min

Data submitted were based on a sample of cases/patients.

National Avg.
5hrs 33min
Ark. Avg.
4hrs 27min
This Hospital
4hrs 52min
Admitted Patients
Transfer Time

Among patients admitted, additional time they spent waiting before being taken to their room (sometimes referred to as "boarding time.")

2hrs 18min

Data submitted were based on a sample of cases/patients.

National Avg.
2hrs 24min
Ark. Avg.
2hrs 15min
This Hospital
2hrs 18min
Special Patients
CT Scan

Percentage of patients who arrived with stroke symptoms and did not receive brain scan results within 45 mins.

11%
National Avg.
27%
Ark. Avg.
25%
This Hospital
11%

Violations Related to ER Care

Problems found in emergency rooms at this hospital since 2015, as identified during the investigation of a complaint. About This Data →

Violation
Full Text
EMERGENCY SERVICES POLICIES

Apr 20, 2017

Based on clinical record review, policy and procedure review and interview, it was determined, of the 10 emergency room records reviewed, there was no evidence 3 of 3 (#7-#9) patients who received pain medication were reassessed after the administration of pain medication.

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Based on clinical record review, policy and procedure review and interview, it was determined, of the 10 emergency room records reviewed, there was no evidence 3 of 3 (#7-#9) patients who received pain medication were reassessed after the administration of pain medication. The failed practice did not ensure the patient's pain level was at an acceptable range for the patient. The failed practice had the potential to affect all patients receiving pain medications. The findings follow: A. Review of Patient #7's clinical record on 04/19/17 revealed the patient received Morphine 2 mg (milligrams) IV (intravenous) Push on 04/17/17 at 1207, 1305 and 1505. There was no evidence the patient's pain was reassessed after Morphine was administered for any of the times of administration. The findings were confirmed in an interview with the Registered Nurse Manager of the Emergency Department on 04/19/17 at 1450. B. Review of Patient #8's clinical record on 04/19/17 revealed the patient received Hydromorphone 1 mg IV Push on 04/15/17 at 2314. There was no evidence the patient's pain was reassessed after Hydromorphone was administered. The findings were confirmed in an interview with the Registered Nurse Manager of the Emergency Department on 04/19/17 at 1500. C. Review of Patient #9's clinical record on 04/19/17 revealed the patient received Morphine 4 mg IV Push on 04/14/17 at 2203. There was no evidence the patient's pain was reassessed after Morphine was administered. The findings were confirmed in an interview with the Registered Nurse Manager of the Emergency Department on 04/19/17 at 1505. D. Review of the policy "Pain Management" on 04/19/17 revealed, "III. Reassessments: 2. With pharmacologic or non-pharmacologic intervention. a. Post pharmacologic intervention the patient should be reassessed within one (1) hour of the administration of intramuscular or IV pain medications, and within two (2) hours for the administration of oral medications." E. The findings of D were confirmed in an interview with the Chief Quality Officer on 04/19/17 at 1520.

See Less ↑
Notes

“Average time” refers to the median wait time (the midpoint of all patients' wait times). References to “doctor or medical practitioner” indicate a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant. CMS reports the CT scan quality measure as the percentage of patients who received a scan within 45 minutes. We have reversed that measure so that all measures follow a “lower is better” pattern.

Additional design and development by Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei.

Sources

All data comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Detailed quality measures at the hospital, state and national level were last updated September 2019. Most data was collected between October 2017 and October 2018. Data on ER-related violations is from January 2015 to June 2019.

Additional Info

How We've Updated ER Inspector | Download ProPublica's Emergency Room Planning Toolkit | About This Data

Don’t See Your ER?

In some cases we aren’t able to identify the exact location of a hospital, so it doesn’t appear on our mapped search results. However, it may still be in our database – try looking for it in the list of hospitals on each state's page.

In other cases, the hospital is missing from our database because it doesn't have an emergency department.

In other cases, the hospital is missing from the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data. There are a couple of reasons why a hospital isn’t included in CMS data: it may not participate in Medicare, or it may share a certification number with another hospital (common across large hospital systems).

If you notice a hospital missing from our database, please first check if you can find it on CMS' website, and that it is listed as having an ER. If so, please email us with the hospital name and address.