Eleven California hospitals have been fined for patient health and safety violations ranging from leaving objects in surgical patients' bodies to failing to comply with fall prevention standards.
In a report issued last month, the California Department of Health levied $25,000 penalties on hospitals in which investigations found deficiencies that endangered, or potentially endangered, their patients.
Six hospitals were cited for retained objects that required additional surgeries to remove them. At the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center, this was the second retained object penalty issued this year. Other violations included neglect of fall prevention policies, failure to monitor a patient's status, allowing untrained staff to provide nursing care, and not communicating lab test results to healthcare providers.
For most of the facilities, these were their first administrative penalties. Each was required to implement a prevention plan. Since these incidents occurred in 2008, state lawmakers have increased the fine for a first violation from $25,000 to $50,000.
David Bernard
