The Federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has launched an investigation into deaths of babies at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Florida following open heart surgeries.
The investigation came in response to a CNN story this week that showed between 2011 to 2013, the West Palm Beach hospital had a 12.5% mortality rate for open heart surgery, three times the national average.
“We take these allegations very seriously. CMS is actively investigating these complaints,” Aaron Albright, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wrote in an email.
Tenet Healthcare, which owns St. Mary’s, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the federal investigation.