Department of Public Health Fines Hospitals for Patient Safety Issues
On Dec. 20, 2012, the California Department of Public Health fined several California hospitals a total of $785,000 for 12 violations that jeopardized patients' health and safety, AP/U-T San Diego reports (AP/U-T San Diego, 12/20/12).
Details of Violations
The fines -- which ranged from $10,000 to $100,000 -- were levied for errors occurring at the hospitals in 2010 and 2011 (Gorman, Los Angeles Times, 12/21/12).
Some of the violations reported by DPH include:
- Improper use of a surgical device that led to a patient's death;
- Leaving surgical objects inside of patients after operations;
- Removing the wrong kidney from a patient; and
- Incorrectly administering medications (AP/U-T San Diego, 12/20/12).
Details of Fines
The fines levied by DPH include:
- $10,000 for Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City;
- $50,000 for Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Rafael;
- $50,000 for Kaiser Foundation Hospital-South Bay in Harbor City;
- $50,000 for Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia;
- $50,000 for Methodist Hospital of Southern California in Arcadia;
- $50,000 for Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley;
- $75,000 for a second incident at Kaweah Delta Medical Center;
- $75,000 for Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Diego County;
- $75,000 for UC-San Francisco Medical Center;
- $100,000 for Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Oakland;
- $100,000 for Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo; and
- $100,000 for a second incident at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center (Clark, HealthLeaders Media, 12/21/12).