Residents Voice Their Concerns at Wilmington Town Hall Meeting

Councilman Joe Buscaino speaking at town
hall meeting in Wilmington February 13.
(Photo by Anabell Romero)

A small but engaged group of residents attended last night’s town hall meeting with Councilman Joe Buscaino at Banning High School’s auditorium. He spoke of his accomplishments during his first year in office and shared a 10 minute video detailing all his work for the 15th district in Los Angeles, which includes Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, San Pedro, Watts and Wilmington.

Because there was such low attendance almost every attendee was given an opportunity to voice their concerns about ongoing problems in the neighborhood like, crime, violence, overwhelming amount of liquor stores in comparison to resourceful centers, poor air quality and illegal dumping.

Community leaders like Salvador Lara who has mobilized hundreds of residents in an effort to clean-up Wilmington spoke out against illegal dumping in the neighborhood and demanded these people get fined as well as more oversight from law enforcement and residents.

Salvador Lara that people get fined for illegal
dumping in Wilmington.
(Photo by Anabell Romero)

Members of the environmental activism group Clean Up Green Up, pleaded for Buscaino’s support to make LA communities healthier through the establishment of green zones in Wilmington. On the spot Buscaino said he supported the initiative.

When a youth got up and asked for Buscaino to support their group Youth Action and the California Youth Bill of Rights, Buscaino said, “anything to mobilize our youth and I’m with you!”

Buscaino made references to when he was a police officer and patrolled areas like downtown LA when it was a hotspot for crime and now has been transformed into L.A. Live, the entertainment complex that has helped revitalize the city.

“We want the same economic development here,” said Buscaino.

He did acknowledge that more work needs to be done to make Wilmington a safer and healthier community and he committed to doing so if re-elected during the LA city elections March 5, where angelenos will also elect a new city mayor.  

He emphasized on creating more jobs, local economic development and making neighborhoods safer.  

Here's a video highlighting some of Buscaino's accomplishments during his first year in office.

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.