California Department of Public Health Issues Penalty to Kaiser

Kaiser Permanente registered nurse Esther Sagun joins fellow nurses and healthcare professionals in protesting recent staff reductions outside Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center in Harbor City December 11. (Photo and caption originally published on Los Angeles Times Blog L.A. Now)

                     This month has been a rough one for Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center in Harbor City where nurses and healthcare professionals protested earlier this month for recent staff reductions, reported the Los Angeles Times. Now the hospital is under fire again. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued 12 penalties today to California hospitals along with fines totaling $785,000 after investigations found the facilities’ noncompliance with licensing requirements caused, or was likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients.

       Harbor City’s Kaiser failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures for safe distribution and administration of medication. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

The following hospitals also received penalties:

1.      Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/ Richmond, Oakland, Alameda County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow manufacturer’s instructions for the use of a particular medical device. The penalty is $100,000. This is the hospital’s third administrative penalty.

2.      Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego, San Diego, San Diego County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established surgical policies and procedures. The penalty is $75,000. This is the hospital’s second administrative penalty.

3.      Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael, San Rafael, Marin County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

4.      Kaweah Delta Medical Center, Visalia, Tulare County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established maternity care policies and procedures. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

5.      Kaweah Delta Medical Center, Visalia, Tulare County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures related to patient assessment. The penalty is $75,000. This is the hospital’s second administrative penalty.

6.      Methodist Hospital of Southern California, Arcadia, Los Angeles County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

7.      Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, Mission Viejo, Orange County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object. The penalty is $100,000. This is the hospital’s fifth administrative penalty.

8.      Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, Mission Viejo, Orange County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in the patient undergoing a second surgery. The penalty is $100,000. This is the hospital’s sixth administrative penalty.

9.      Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, Fountain Valley, Orange County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object.  The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

10.     Sutter Coast Hospital, Crescent City, Del Norte County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not develop, maintain and implement a fire prevention policy and procedure. The penalty is $10,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

11.     UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, San Francisco County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures for safe distribution and administration of medication. The penalty is $75,000.  This is the hospital’s sixth administrative penalty.

           Administrative penalties are issued under authority granted by Health and Safety Code section 1280.1. Incidents that occurred prior to 2009 carry a fine of $25,000. New legislation took effect January 1, 2009, that increased fines for incidents that occurred in 2009 or later. Under the new provisions, an administrative penalty carries a fine of $50,000 for the first violation, $75,000 for the second, and $100,000 for the third or subsequent violation by the licensee. Incidents that occurred prior to 2009 are not counted when determining the fine amounts. CDPH also has the authority to reduce the amount of a penalty issued to a rural hospital.

           When hospitals receive their survey findings, they are required to provide CDPH with a plan of correction to prevent future incidents. Hospitals can appeal an administrative penalty by requesting a hearing within ten calendar days of notification. If a hearing is requested and the penalty upheld following an appeal, the penalties must be paid.

All hospitals in California are required to be in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations governing general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, and special hospitals. The hospitals are required to comply with these standards to ensure quality of care.

Information provided by a CDPH press release.