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| (Photo Credit: Los Angeles Harbor College) |
Harbor-UCLA
Medical Center was fined $50,000 for failing to ensure the health and safety of
a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures, stated
the California Department
of Public Health (CDPH).
This was the
fifth time the Torrance hospital was penalized for malpractice, said the press release sent
yesterday.
Eight other
hospitals were also fined totaling $775,000 after investigations found the
facilities’ noncompliance with licensing requirements caused, or were likely to
cause, serious injury or death to patients.
The following California hospitals were also penalized by the CDPH.
Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, San Diego,
San Diego County: The hospital failed to
ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established
policies and procedures regarding fall prevention. The penalty is $50,000. This
is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.
Antelope Valley Hospital, Lancaster , 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.
Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno,
Fresno County: The hospital failed to ensure
the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies
and procedures related to cardiovascular surgery services. The penalty is
$75,000. This is the hospital’s second administrative penalty.
Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno,
Fresno County: The hospital failed to ensure
the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies
and procedures related to medical staff rules and regulations. The penalty is
$100,000. This is the hospital’s third administrative penalty.
Mercy Medical Center, Merced, Merced 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 care. The penalty is $50,000. This
is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.
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 established policies
and procedures related to central line catheters. The penalty is $100,000. This
is the hospital’s seventh administrative penalty.
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose,
Santa Clara 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 $100,000. This is the hospital’s fourth administrative penalty.
Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, San Diego 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 $100,000. This is the hospital’s fourth
administrative penalty.
St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton, Orange County: The hospital failed to ensure
the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies
and procedures regarding fall prevention. The penalty is $100,000. 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. On
January 1, 2009, the fines increased for incidents that occurred in 2009 or
later. Under this provision, 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. To date, the department has
issued 295 administrative penalties including those issued today. The most
common reason for an administrative penalty is a retained foreign object after
surgery (25 percent), patient care issues (22 percent) and medication errors
(20 percent).
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.
