More Families Sue Dental Clinic Over Bacterial Infections Contracted Following Children’s Root Canals
The bacterial outbreak, which occurred in 2016, sickened dozens of children, some of whom lost permanent teeth because of the infections. There are now 113 plaintiffs in a series of lawsuits against the Children's Dental Group, and lawyers expect that number to grow.
Orange County Register:
65 More Families File Lawsuit Against Anaheim Dental Clinic On Behalf Of Infected Children
Sixty-five families whose children were infected by rare bacteria when they underwent pulpotomies, or “baby root canals,” at an Anaheim clinic two years ago filed a lawsuit Wednesday, Jan. 16, naming the clinic, its operators, the company that installs and maintains water filtration systems, and several dentists. The lawsuit, which was filed in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, alleges that Children’s Dental Group and dentists who provided services there performed hundreds if not thousands of unnecessary pulpotomies on children. Potentially deadly Mycobacterium abscessus was found in several samples the county’s Health Care Agency took from the clinic’s water system. (Bharath, 1/16)
In other news from across the state —
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Palomar Health Also Switching To District Elections
Palomar Health’s board of directors has decided its 2020 election will be based on districts to avoid the threat of a lawsuit if the area’s public hospital district does not abandon its at-large election method.Based on the two draft maps, Rancho Bernardo and Poway will each be split among several districts unless another map is proposed showing different boundary lines. A third public hearing on the change was held Monday evening at Palomar Medical Center Poway prior to the board’s monthly meeting. It was the first for which a press release was sent to media last Friday afternoon announcing the election change. No public comment was given at the meeting. (Himchak, 1/16)
The Delano Record:
Delano Regional Agrees To Join Adventist Health
Delano Regional Medical Center has agreed to become part of Adventist Health Central California, pending regulatory approval. The move announced Jan. 11 would fold 156-bed Delano Regional, operated by Central California Foundation for Health since 1992, into a much larger nonprofit organization with hospitals, clinics and other resources in 80 communities across the West Coast and Hawaii. The addition of Delano Regional would also restack Kern County's highly competitive hospital market. Adventist's primary competitor in Bakersfield, San Francisco-based Dignity Health, has three local hospitals: Bakersfield Memorial and Mercy Hospital's downtown and southwest Bakersfield locations. If DRMC joins Adventist, then the Roseville-based chain would have three hospitals in Kern — one each in Bakersfield, Delano and Tehachapi — plus another proposed in northwest Bakersfield. (Cox, 1/17)