Reps. Kathy Castor, Charlie Crist repeat call for federal investigation into All Children’s heart unit

U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Charlie Crist doubled down on their request for a federal investigation into the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Heart Institute on Wednesday, a day after the hospital announced resignations by the CEO and other top executives.

They had already released a statement calling for action after a Tampa Bay Times investigation found that the mortality rate at the hospital’s heart surgery unit had tripled from 2015 to 2017. Children died after heart operations at a higher rate than any other Florida program last year.

Read the full statement from Castor and Crist below:

”While we welcome the change in leadership at All Children’s as a prudent first step, this is no substitute for effective oversight by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We continue to call for a federal investigation to provide the answers and accountability demanded by the seriousness of this situation. Major corrective actions must be taken to reestablish the high quality of care patients deserve and the preeminent reputation the institution held for decades.”

Click here to read the Times investigation, “Heartbroken.” You can also read our coverage of the resignations, or the warning signs that state and federal officials missed.

The statement and the original letter to Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, are online.