Spartanburg Medical Center Agreed to Pay $100,000 for Allegedly Violating Patient Dumping Statute by Inappropriately Transferring a Patient

On November 12, 2025, Spartanburg Medical Center (SMC), Spartanburg, South Carolina, entered into a $100,000 settlement agreement with OIG. The settlement agreement resolves allegations that SMC violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Based on its investigation, OIG concluded that in May 2024, SMC inappropriately transferred a patient. Specifically, SMC provided a medical screening examination and determined the patient to have a large hematoma along the left carotid artery, with foci of active bleeding, as well as narrowing of the oropharyngeal airway following and endarterectomy performed at another facility ("Hospital B") 8 days before coming to SMC's emergency department (ED); the patient was subsequently intubated. The ED physician ordered tests, secured the patient's airway, and consulted telephonically with the on-call vascular surgeon, but that surgeon did not physically come to SMC to evaluate the patient and provide the necessary stabilizing treatment for the patient's emergency medical condition. Instead, the on-call physician requested that the patient be transferred to Hospital B. The benefits of transfer did not outweigh the risks because SMC had the capabilities to provide stabilizing treatment, and the risks included airway loss, respiratory failure, stroke with permanent disability, or death without immediate medical attention.