North Carolina Baptist Hospital Agreed to Pay $200,000 for Allegedly Violating Patient Dumping Statute by Failing to Provide Appropriate Medical Screening Examinations

On August 19, 2025, North Carolina Baptist Hospital (NCBH), Winston-Salem, North Carolina, entered into a $200,000 settlement agreement with OIG. The settlement agreement resolves allegations that NCBH violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Based on its investigation, OIG concluded that on two occasions in August 2021, NCBH failed to provide adequate medical screening examinations for two patients who presented to NCBH.

Specifically in August 2021, a patient presented to NCBH’s Emergency Department (ED) requesting a psychiatric evaluation and a refill of his psychotropic medications. The patient also complained of 8 out of 10 back pain. He was triaged and determined to have abnormal vital signs. Approximately four hours later, the patient was noted in NCHB’s medical records as having left without being seen. The patient returned to NCHB’s ED two days later after jumping off a bridge and being hit by a truck, sustaining injuries from which he died.

In August 2021, a patient presented to NCBH’s ED with a chief complaint of psychological issues after being picked up by an ambulance due to a psychiatric disturbance. The patient stated that she thought people were trying to poison her. The patient denied being suicidal or homicidal. While in the ED the patient made bizarre, illogical statements and was experiencing auditory hallucinations. The patient had a known history of schizophrenic effective disorder, bipolar disorder and depression. She was given intravenous fluids and discharged home the following day. There was no detailed psychiatric examination of the patient. At the time of discharge, the patient complained that she could not walk or see, and refused to leave. A doctor talked to her, after which a hospital security guard was called and she was given a bus token and escorted out of the ED. When her mother inquired as to the patient’s whereabouts, the patient was found at a bus stop in a hospital robe. Approximately one week later, the patient was involuntary committed to a psychiatric facility.