Los Angeles County Investigates Alleged Improper CPR Certifications
Los Angeles County health officials are investigating allegations that a manager at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center was selling or giving away required certification for CPR training, the Los Angeles Times reports. County auditors set up an undercover operation to investigate whether a manager and CPR instructor at King/Drew was improperly certifying hospital staff after receiving a tip about the practice in mid-August.
Auditors have identified 37 instances in which the instructor signed nurses' CPR cards, but it has not yet been determined whether those cards were obtained legitimately.
County Department of Health Services Director Thomas Garthwaite said all nurses involved will be retested.
A preliminary review of CPR certifications found hundreds of cases in which a card was issued but does not contain an instructor's signature, according to county officials. Officials said they have not begun reviewing files of doctors or other hospital staff who are required to be certified.
The instructor has denied the charges (Weber/Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, 11/4).