Calif. Health Department Levies $675,000 in Fines on 10 Hospitals
The California Department of Health has fined 10 state hospitals a total of $675,000 for violating certain licensing requirements that "caused, or [were] likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients," the Los Angeles Times' "L.A. Now" reports.
The fines ranged from $50,000 to $100,000 (Bloomekatz, "L.A. Now," Los Angeles Times, 8/15).
Details of Fines
The hospitals that were fined include:
- Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, which was fined $50,000 because a temporary nurse hired during a strike gave a patient nutritional solution intravenously instead of through a feeding tube, resulting in the patient's death (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 8/15);
- Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles, which was fined $50,000 for failing to follow policies related to telemetry monitoring;
- Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville, which was fined $50,000 for failing to follow policies related to cardiac catheterization;
- Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, which was fined $50,000 for not following patient safety procedures;
- Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, which was fined $100,000 for not following policies related to respiratory care;
- Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, which was fined $100,000 for failing to follow patient safety procedures;
- Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, which was fined $50,000 after surgeons had to repeat a surgery to remove a foreign object (CDPH release, 8/15);
- Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, which was fined $75,000 for failing to follow surgical policies and procedures when doctors accidentally made an incision on the wrong side of a patient's groin (Sisson, U-T San Diego, 8/15);
- St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, which was fined $100,000 after surgeons removed the wrong kidney from a patient with cancer (Bailey, "KPCC News," KPCC, 8/15); and
- UC-Davis Medical Center, which was fined $50,000 for not following protocol and infecting brain cancer patients with bacteria during an experimental treatment (Sacramento Business Journal, 8/15).
The fines were the first administrative penalties levied at Barlow, Desert Valley, UCLA Medical Center and UC-Davis Medical Center.
In addition to paying the fines, the hospitals are required to submit to CDPH a plan of correction to prevent future violations (CDPH release, 8/15).
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