Hospitals fined in L.A., Torrance, Santa Clarita, and Orange County
Imperiling patient safety
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Five Southland hospitals are among 14 in California that have been fined for imperiling patient safety through such missteps as leaving items inside people who have undergone surgery, the California Department of Public Health announced today.
The five include Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, L.A. County-USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights, Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton and Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance.
The Department of Public Health said in a statement that the 14 hospitals it penalized were fined a total of $850,000 “after it was determined the facilities’ noncompliance with licensing requirements caused, or was likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients.”
Among the five Southland hospitals, the one slapped with the highest fine—$100,000—was Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo. Because it failed to follow its own procedures and policies, an object was left inside a patient, requiring a second surgery, according to the Department of Public Health. It was Mission’s fourth administrative penalty.
Torrance Memorial Medical Center, with transgressions similar to Mission Hospital’s, was fined $75,000 in its second administrative penalty, the department said.
In Fullerton, St. Jude Medical Center “failed to implement policies and procedures for the safe administration of medication” and was fined $75,000 in its third administrative penalty, according to the department’s statement.
Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital also “failed to implement policies and procedures for the safe administration of medication” and, in its first penalty, was fined $50,000, the department said.
Like Mission Hospital and Torrance Memorial, County-USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights” did not follow its surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object,” according to the department. The hospital was fined $25,000 in its fifth administrative penalty.
Hospitals fined by the Department of Public Health are required to provide plans on how they will prevent recurrences of mistakes.
LOS ANGLES, Calif. — In a major case of academic poaching involving crosstown rivals, USC has lured away two prominent neuroscientists from UCLA with a promise to expand their internationally renowned lab, which uses brain imaging techniques to study Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, autism and other disorders, it was reported today.
The Crenshaw Subway Coalition is gearing up for a possible showdown over additional funding for the Crenshaw-to-LAX light rail line, including a Leimert Park Village Station, but may have to await a May 23 decision by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board on just how bruising—or necessary—a showdown will be.
Despite the fact that a record 1.13 million individuals in Los Angeles County received CalFresh benefits in January 2013, there are still many residents in immediate need of assistance who are unaware that they may be eligible for the benefit.
Consequently, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has voted to launch another campaign reminding people that May is CalFresh Awareness Month and that the help is available.
Additionally, the compaign is designed to promote healthier food choices in the nation’s largest and most diverse county.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Airport traffic control towers in Pacoima, Fullerton, Riverside and Ramona will remain open longer than expected, with the Federal Aviation Administration announcing today it was delaying the closures that were expected to begin this weekend as part of forced spending cuts under
sequestration.
The towers were expected to close beginning Sunday, with a tower in Lancaster scheduled to close April 21 and a tower in San Diego closing May 5.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Airport traffic control towers in Pacoima, Fullerton, Riverside and San Diego will close starting April 7 under the Federal Aviation Administration’s forced spending cuts, the agency announced today.
Control towers are scheduled to close at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, Fullerton Municipal Airport, Riverside Municipal Airport, Brown Field and Ramona Airport in San Diego County, according to the FAA.
