Tustin Hospital and Medical Center To Reapply for Medi-Cal Funding

Tustin Hospital and Medical Center officials said that its pediatric skilled nursing center will reapply for Medi-Cal funding at a meeting next week with Department of Health Services officials, the Orange County Register reports (Saar, Orange County Register, 4/30). The 42-bed pediatric subacute care unit, which is used for children with severe medical problems, lost Medi-Cal funding after the hospital was issued a Class AA citation -- the most severe reprimand -- for the death of a seven-year-old patient last June. In addition, the hospital received another citation in January over the transfer of three patients in the pediatric subacute care unit to other facilities against government regulations (California Healthline, 4/29). Jon Cohn, an attorney for the hospital, said that Tustin Hospital's case will be strengthened by a regulation change made last week by DHS; the change states that a hospital cannot lose its standing with Medi-Cal automatically after a Class AA citation has been issued. Under the previous regulation, a citation for a serious deficiency against a hospital within the past 12 months disqualified it from participating in Medi-Cal. However, Tustin Hospital's reapplication for Medi-Cal funding could be complicated by the lesser citation issued over the improper transfers, the Register reports (Orange County Register, 4/30).