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California Hospitals Fined $825,000 for Safety Violations
Retained objects a leading cause of state penalties.
Published:June 7, 2012
Five California hospitals have been fined for retained object incidents in the state department of public health's latest round of penalties for violations of licensing requirements that imperil patients' safety and, in some cases, their lives.
According to the department, which has posted full reports of each offense online, 13 hospitals were fined a total of $825,000 for infractions ranging from unsafe medication delivery practices to fall risks to a failure to "provide considerate and respectful care."
The California Department of Public Health has issued 224 such penalties and $5.9 million in fines since 2007. Retained objects following surgery are the leading cause of penalties with 26% of the citations. Medication errors follow at 24% and patient safety and patient care concerns have 17% each.
In most cases, facilities are fined $50,000 for their first violation, $75,000 for the second and $100,000 for each subsequent violation, and must provide the department with plans for corrective action after they are cited.
The facilities cited for retained objects, and their fine amounts, were:
The other facilities cited were:
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