Eighteen California hospital will face $25,000 fines after state officials determined that violations of their requirements of licensure has caused, or are likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients.
The California Department of Public Health has posted the penalized hospitals on its Web site, along with a report detailing the violations.
The hospitals include:
- Anaheim General Hospital, Anaheim, Orange County
- Coastal Communities Hospital, Santa Ana, Orange County
- Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, Riverside County
- Doctors Medical Center, San Pablo, Contra Costa County
- Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, Fountain Valley, Orange County
- Grossmont Hospital, La Mesa, San Diego County
- Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, Orange County
- Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Riverside, Riverside County
- Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Fresno, Fresno County
- Los Alamitos Medical Center, Los Alamitos, Orange County
- Los Angeles County, Harbor, University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Torrance, Los Angeles County
- Los Angeles County University of Southern California, Medical Center, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
- Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, San Bernardino
- Palomar Pomerado Health System, Poway, San Diego County
- Promise Hospital of San Diego, San Diego County
- Saint Agnes Hospital, Fresno, Fresno County
- San Gorgonino Memorial Hospital, Banning, Riverside County
- Scripps Green Hospital, San Diego, San Diego County
The penalties were issued under authority granted by Health and Safety Code, section 1280.1 (Senate Bill 1312, Statutes of 2006, Chapter 895), which was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year and took effect Jan. 1, 2007.
"Ensuring all Californians receive quality patient care is our top priority," said Kathleen Billingsley, deputy director of the Center for Health Care Quality at the California Department of Public Health. "We will continue to work with California hospitals to ensure our shared goal of excellence in patient care."
In addition to a penalty, the hospitals will be required to implement a plan of correction to prevent future incidents.