Troubled Sonoma West Medical Center Files For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
The center was recently embroiled in a controversy over its business venture with a Florida-based drug testing company that triggered a major lawsuit over an alleged billing scheme.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sonoma West Medical Center Files For Liquidation Bankruptcy
Sonoma West Medical Center, the management services firm that until early September operated Sebastopol’s struggling district hospital, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week, according to court filings. The move, known as a liquidation bankruptcy, affects some 180 creditors ranging from insurance companies to vendors that provided medical products, food and office supplies, according to a voluntary bankruptcy petition filed Sept. 26. Dan Smith, president of the board of directors of Sonoma West Medical Center, who is listed as the authorized representative in the bankruptcy filing, could not be reached by phone or email Monday. The listed attorney, Douglas Provencher of the Santa Rosa law firm Provencher & Flatt, also could not be reached by phone or email. (Espinoza, 10/1)
In other news from across the state —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Hospital Probes Whether Staff Followed Guidelines In Case Of Man Who Allegedly Decapitated Grandmother
Believing he was possessed by a demon, Luke had repeatedly slammed his head against a wall on Sept. 24, causing a gash that had to be stapled closed, prosecutors said. Despite his mental breakdown, Luke was sent home, where hours later, he allegedly killed 82-year-old Chii-Chyu Horng. On Monday, officials at San Francisco General Hospital said they are investigating whether staff followed proper protocol for people experiencing crises when they released Luke, 30, shortly after treating the wound. (Sernoffsky, 10/1)