ER Inspector COMMUNITY FIRST MEDICAL CENTERCOMMUNITY FIRST 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 » Illinois » COMMUNITY FIRST MEDICAL CENTER

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COMMUNITY FIRST MEDICAL CENTER

5645 w addison street, chicago, Ill. 60634

(773) 282-7000

50% of Patients Would "Definitely Recommend" this Hospital
(Ill. Avg: 70%)

3 violations related to ER care since 2015

Hospital Type

Acute Care Hospitals

Hospital Owner

Voluntary non-profit - Private

ER Volume

High (40K - 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 56min Admitted to hospital
6hrs 56min Taken to room
3hrs 9min 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 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).

3hrs 9min
National Avg.
2hrs 42min
Ill. Avg.
2hrs 52min
This Hospital
3hrs 9min
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. Ill. Hospital
2%
This Hospital
2%
Admitted Patients
Time Before Admission

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

4hrs 56min

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

National Avg.
5hrs 4min
Ill. Avg.
5hrs 10min
This Hospital
4hrs 56min
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

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

National Avg.
2hrs 2min
Ill. Avg.
1hr 57min
This Hospital
2hrs
Special Patients
CT Scan

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

4%
National Avg.
27%
Ill. Avg.
22%
This Hospital
4%

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
COMPLIANCE WITH 489.24

Apr 22, 2015

A.

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A. Based on document review, and interview, it was determined that the Hospital failed to ensure compliance with 42 CFR 489.20 and 42 CFR 489.24. Findings include: 1. The Hospital failed to document the patient's name on the ED central log and the disposition of the patient. (A 2405) 2. The Hospital failed to provide a medical screening exam for the patient presenting for screening for treatment. (A 2406)

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EMERGENCY ROOM LOG

Apr 22, 2015

Based on document review and interview, it was determined that for 1 of 20 (Pt #1) Emergency Department (ED) clinical records reviewed of people presenting to the ED for treatment, the Hospital failed to ensure the patient was entered into the central log. Findings include: 1.

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Based on document review and interview, it was determined that for 1 of 20 (Pt #1) Emergency Department (ED) clinical records reviewed of people presenting to the ED for treatment, the Hospital failed to ensure the patient was entered into the central log. Findings include: 1. Hospital policy entitled, "Emergency Medical Treatment and Transfer," (review March 2015) required, "III. Definitions...(C) 'Hospital Property' means the entire main hospital campus (the physical area immediately adjacent to the hospital's main buildings...located within 250 yards of the main buildings)...IV Procedure...(I) Patient Log. A central log shall be maintained of all individuals presenting requesting emergency services..." 2. The clinical record of Pt #1 was reviewed on 4/21/15. Pt #1 was a [AGE] year old female that presented to the Hospital's ED on 4/14/15 at 1:03 AM for a complaint of "eval." Nursing documentation at 1:09 AM included, "called no answer." 3. The Registered Nurse (E #1) on duty 11:00 PM on 4/13/15 to 7:00 AM 4/14/15 was interviewed on 4/22/15 at approximately 7:00 AM. E #1 stated, "...Finally she became disruptive in the waiting area and I had to call the police and have her escorted out at approximately 2:59 AM. I was hoping they would arrest her but they did not. She came back into the ED with the paramedics at approximately 3:47 AM. When she got out of the ambulance she said she couldn't breathe and was receiving a nebulizer treatment. When she came back into the ED ambulance bay I did not put her back on the board to be seen and did not let the physician know." 4. The ED log dated 4/14/15 log included that Pt #1 presented to the ED at 1:03 AM with a complaint of "eval", however, lacked documentation of Pt #1's second visit at approximately 3:50 AM on 4/14/15. 5. The Director of Nursing stated during an interview on 4/22/15 at approximately 1:00 PM that the patient was not entered into the ED log for her 3:50 AM visit since the patient did not come into the ED.

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MEDICAL SCREENING EXAM

Apr 22, 2015

Based on document review and interview, it was determined that for 1 of 20 (Pt #1) Emergency Department (ED) clinical records reviewed, the Hospital failed to ensure a medical screening examination was provided to the patient presenting to the ED for treatment.

See More ↓

Based on document review and interview, it was determined that for 1 of 20 (Pt #1) Emergency Department (ED) clinical records reviewed, the Hospital failed to ensure a medical screening examination was provided to the patient presenting to the ED for treatment. Findings include: 1. Hospital policy entitled, "Emergency Medical Treatment and Transfer," (review March 2015) required, "III. Definitions...(C) 'Hospital Property' means the entire main hospital campus (the physical area immediately adjacent to the hospital's main buildings...located within 250 yards of the main buildings)...IV. Procedure: (A) Medical Screening Process ...ii. Medical Screening. All individuals who come for emergency services shall receive an appropriate medical screening examination..." 2. The clinical record of Pt #1 was reviewed on 4/21/15. Pt #1 was a [AGE] year old female that presented to the Hospital's ED on 4/14/15 at 1:03 AM for a complaint of "eval." Nursing documentation at 1:09 AM included, "called no answer." 3. On 4/22/15 the surveillance video dated 4/14/15, of the Hospital's ED and ambulance area was reviewed. The video included at 1:03 AM, Pt #1 was present in the ED and remained there until 2:57 AM when the Chicago Police Department arrived in the ED waiting area. Pt #1 was observed walking out of the ED at 2:59 AM. 4. The Registered Nurse (E #1) on duty at 11:00 PM on 4/13/15 to 7:00 AM 4/14/15 was interviewed on 4/22/15 at approximately 7:00 AM. E #1 stated, "I am very familiar with the patient (Pt #1). Finally she became disruptive in the waiting area and I had to call the police and have her escorted out at approximately 2:57 AM. I was hoping they would arrest her but they did not. She came back into the ED with the paramedics at approximately 3:47 AM. When she got out of the ambulance she said she couldn't breathe and was receiving a nebulizer treatment. When she came back into the ED ambulance bay I did not put her back on the board to be seen and did not let the physician know. I just told the charge nurse. I felt the custody of the patient did not change from the Chicago Paramedics and they would have been the ones to log her in. She was not triaged and did not receive a medical screening examination. She wanted to be taken somewhere else and the ambulance would not take her. When she left the last time around 3:50 AM, she just walked away." 5. The Charge Nurse (E #4) on duty 4/13/15 night shift was interviewed by phone on 4/22/15 at approximately 8:50 AM. E #4 stated, "The triage nurse told me she (the patient) had returned to the ED by ambulance, was belligerent, and walked away from the ambulance bay without coming inside, at approximately 3:50 AM. The paramedics asked me to sign their incident report which I did. All I know is that the patient only got as far as the ambulance bay doors on her second visit. I did not tell the patient she could not come in. I notified the physician a couple of hours later that the patient had been here." 6. The EMS report dated 4/14/15 was reviewed on 4/22/15. The report included, "Called ...for a [AGE] year old female patient who had just been kicked out of CFMC (Community First Medical Center) for an unknown reason and is CO (complaining) of difficulty breathing due to asthma ...Pt states CFMC will 'kick her out' if she goes there again...crew convinced her to be taken due to her wheezing and slight distress...Pt found to be wheezing and in mild distress...A triage nurse, security guard, and other staff members met crew at door and told the patient she cannot come inside because they threw her out earlier. Pt became upset...ripped the aerosol mask off her face, got up and walked away..." 7. On 4/22/15 the surveillance video dated 4/14/15, of the Hospital's ED and ambulance area was reviewed. The video included at 2:57 AM the Chicago Police Department arriving in the ED waiting area and at 2:59 AM Pt #1 was observed walking out. At 3:47 AM the video identified Pt #1 arriving by ambulance in a wheelchair. At 3:50 AM Pt #1 was observed talking to staff and then leaving the Hospital ambulatory. 8. Pt #1's clinical record lacked documentation of the provision of a medical screening examination during Pt. #1's first visit with the complaint of "eval" on 4/14/15 at 1:03 AM and when she returned at 3:47 AM on 4/14/15 with the complaint of difficulty breathing. 9. The Director of Nursing stated during an interview on 4/22/15 at approximately 1:00 PM that the patient did not come back into the ED at 3:50 AM after exiting from the ambulance.

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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.