Brentwood Behavioral Healthcare of Mississippi Agreed to Pay $350,000 for Allegedly Violating Patient Dumping Statute by Failing to Accept Appropriate Transfers

On May 9, 2025, Brentwood Behavioral Healthcare of Mississippi (Brentwood), Flowood, Mississippi, entered into a $350,000 settlement agreement with OIG. The settlement agreement resolves allegations that Brentwood violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Based on its investigation, OIG concluded that Brentwood violated the requirements of EMTALA on seven occasions in June 2021, when Brentwood, a hospital with specialized capabilities, failed to accept the appropriate transfer of seven individuals when it had both the capability and capacity to do so. In each instance, another hospital made a request for transfer of an individual experiencing an unstable psychiatric emergency medical condition in order for that individual to receive needed stabilizing treatment available at Brentwood. In each instance Brentwood’s interim CEO at that time directed staff to refuse the transfer, claiming that the hospital did not have the capacity to treat the individual. In each instance, however, Brentwood had the capacity, but refused the transfer because the individual needing treatment was uninsured and being transferred from a significant distance.

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