DPH Fines 12 California Hospitals $750K for Adverse Events
On Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that it has fined 12 hospitals hundreds of thousands of dollars for medical errors that put patients' safety at risk, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Details of Penalties
DPH fined the hospitals a total of $775,000.
The penalized hospitals included:
- California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, which was fined $75,000 for a 2013 incident in which a suction bulb was left inside a woman after a hysterectomy, who later experienced an infection after having the bulb removed (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/20);
- Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, which was fined $50,000 for a 2013 incident in which a patient died after receiving an accidental dose of an intravenous drug, causing complications after surgery (CBS SF Bay Area, 5/20);
- Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville, which was fined $50,000 for an incident in which a patient with a rib fracture received a chest tube on the wrong side prior to surgery;
- Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Diego, which was fined $75,000 for an incident in which a premature newborn was burned after being placed under an unregulated radiant heat warmer;
- Glenn Medical Center in Willows, which was fined $50,000 for an incident in which providers failed to immediately diagnose a pregnant patient for Preeclampsia, which led to her death and that of her fetus (DPH release, 5/20);
- Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, which was fined $100,000 for leaving a surgical scalp clip inside a patient following head surgery (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/20);
- Mercy Medical Center in Merced, which was fined $100,000 for an incident in which a patient admitted to the emergency department died after providers failed to effectively monitor the patient while receiving high doses of Dilaudid;
- Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, which was fined $75,000 for an incident in which a patient died after receiving a high dose of a blood clot dissolving drug after providers failed to properly evaluate the patient;
- Redlands Community Hospital, which was fined $50,000 for an incident in which a surgical sponge was left inside a patient, leading to infection, need for antibiotics and a second surgery;
- San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital, which was fined $50,000 for an incident in which a patient required surgery for a fractured arm after hospital staff placed the patient in manual restraints without a physician order or nurse authorization (DPH release, 5/20);
- Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista, which was fined $50,000 for an incident in which a patient died after providers failed to administer medication within an hour of a physician's order (Tatro/Fleming, NBC 7 San Diego, 5/20); and
- Seton Medical Center in Daly City, which was fined $50,000 for an incident in which the hospital failed to follow patient safety regulations, resulting in the death of a patient who sustained injuries from a fall (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/20).