California Fines 14 Hospitals for Endangering Patients’ Health
On Thursday, the California Department of Public Health fined 14 California hospitals a total of $825,000 for violations that jeopardized the health and safety of patients, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 8/31).
Details of Violations
The violations led to five deaths and repeat surgeries for seven patients, according to HealthLeaders Media (Clark, HealthLeaders Media, 8/31).
Some of the violations reported by DPH include:
- Leaving a surgical sponge inside of a patient (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 8/30);
- Failing to ensure that an insulin pump was able to self-administer medication; and
- Improperly removing stitches that held a patient's tracheostomy tube (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/31).
Details of Fines
The fines levied by DPH include:
- $25,000 for Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center;
- $25,000 for Simi Valley Hospital & Health Care Services;
- $50,000 for John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio;
- $50,000 for Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles;
- $50,000 for Menlo Park Surgical Hospital;
- $50,000 for Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno;
- $50,000 for Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco;
- $50,000 for Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto;
- $75,000 for California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles County;
- $75,000 for Kaiser Foundation Hospital in South San Francisco;
- $75,000 for University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange;
- $100,000 for Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Francisco;
- $100,000 for St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton; and
- $100,000 for St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco (DPH release, 8/31).