California Fines Hospitals For Shoddy Care

Patients Deaths Linked To Negligent Care; $25,000 Fines Issued For Health Code Violations

(AP)  Eighteen hospitals in California were fined for state health code violations in which patients received shoddy care that in some cases led to deaths.

Violations included an improperly inserted catheter, a ventilator that was not turned on and surgical tools left inside patients after operations.

The fines made public Monday stem from investigations by the California Department of Public Health.

The hospitals were fined $25,000 for each violation - the latest of dozens of penalties the state has issued in recent years to more than 40 hospitals.

"The number of penalties will decrease and the quality of care will dramatically improve as hospitals take action to improve," said Kathleen Billingsley, director of the health department's Center for Healthcare Quality. "The entire intent of these fines is to improve the overall quality of care in California."

The report detailed a death at a La Mesa hospital in which a worker failed to turn on a ventilator for a patient who was being transferred. Another patient in Los Alamitos died after falling from a wheelchair with no seat belt on, and a Santa Ana hospital lost a patient from a medication overdose.

At Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, a registered nurse improperly inserted a catheter into a patient's neck vein on Sept. 1, and the patient died as a result of an air bubble from the tube. The report found the nurse had not completed a required anatomy class or the hospital's training on protocol.

Defending himself in the report, the unidentified male nurse told investigators, "I am the pro of the hospital. The other nurses call me to put in IVs that they cannot get in."

A message seeking comment from the medical center was not returned Monday.

In other cases, patients had surgical instruments or sponges left inside their bodies during surgery, requiring a second surgery to retrieve the items. The report also found some patients experienced surgical awareness during their procedures due to improper anesthesia.

The state has issued 61 such penalties to 42 hospitals, Billingsley said.

[dan9111]

Oh yes, these fines will keep the costs down. Craziness. A better antidote is to give people tools to shop around and avoid these bad hospitals running backward 20th century style facilities. Not a chance though because all of them are milking the tax dollars which grow whenever the facilities worsen.

[wl7bzh]

"shoddy"? Is that the British pronunciation?

[drivelphobe]

The "shoddy" care is what the abusive, illegal patients get when the staff are sick and tired of dealing with them.

A patient with insurance and a legitimate injury or illness, gets excellent care. How can anyone work in a hospital where thousands of filthy, non-English speaking parasites crowd the hospitals for minor or made up afflictions, all for free. With only so much time and resources, the real care has to go to the paying, insured patients.

The fines here are a joke. Take money away from an economically strapped institution really makes sense. Why not quit accepting gratis patients?

[labrat9999]

How sad that some here would blame illegal patients for a hospital Staff that is inept and a government totally broken. There is no excuse for poor quality health care other than our government''s neglect of a system that is falling apart. When patients have to chose between health care and medicines or food we have come to a very sad place in our history. Like everything else that has happened since the GOP took power 8 years ago the health care system is also falling apart. But that shouldn''t be a surprise with people like John McCain in the Senate where he thinks people that make 5 million dollars are middle-class. Please give me a pay raise so I can be one of those middle-class folks cause I''m one poor person by any such standard!

[lovesamerica]

civilization is big circle, the day will come when life expectancy drops back to the 50''s,only the wealthy own a tv and mark my words,soon even radio won''t be free. computers will become obsolete. Fanmily generations will be living in single houses... Civilization will be the end of the world. It sure is tough to watch though.

[missingamerica]

When are we going to start addressing the root cause: The people who run the hospitals, and hold profits to be more important than people?

Start fining the owners of the hospitals, or the members of their boards of directors, directly...and publicize it.

[wineberry]

I think human intelligence has taken a giant step backwards and human ignorance has taken a giant step forward in some of these hospitals. Years ago I heard that thousands of doctors were practicing medicine where they were doing surgeries, dispensing medicine, diagnosing diseases, and they had never been to medical school!. Sometimes when I pass a baby in a carrier in the store and think of the world they have been brought into I think "poor kid".

[cdfoxtrot2]

A fine of 25k seems a tad small for a "mistake" that resulted in someone''s death. Seems to me there should be a minimum of 10 times that, at least, for such negligence.

[cdfoxtrot2]

A better antidote is to give people tools to shop around and avoid these bad hospitals running backward 20th century style facilities....

Posted by Dan9111

The free market does NOT work in many instances, and medicine is one of them. Government intervention is what is needed, in terms of oversight, standards setting and tough enforcement. I remember the more extreme of the right-wing crowd like Milton Friedman advocating in the past allowing anyone to practice as surgeons, and that the "free market" would weed out the ones that were improperly trained or skilled. That''s fine unless you''re one of the victims. The free market is NOT the answer to everything.

[eddom949]

We went in for my Uncle''s Congestive Heart Failure treatment, and found that the room reeked of sewage. When I pressed the issue asking for ventilation in the form of an open window, the thermostat (which was apparently non-functional), or a fan, I was referred to the Head Nurse who informed me, "That''s what happens in a hospital..." !

[joe_transit]

The medical profession needs to be knocked down a few notches. Most doctors are in it for the money only and are narcissistic golf playing fools. They get a degree after torturing monkeys. Some of these nurses are ***. It''s all run by the same type of organizations that made all those home loans.

[baptox]

I watched a nurse "supervise" a family member who was learning how to do a dressing change on another family member (the patient) who was about to be discharged to home two weeks ago. The person doing the dressing change never washed her (ungloved) hands either before or after the procedure, and the nurse never noticed. The spandex gloved nurse proceeded to touch this patient, and then just about everything in the room, without ever removing her gloves. This happened at Kaiser Permanente in Vallejo, CA but I''ve seen it in lots of places. It is indicative of how simple things like handwashing are ignored, as staff is over-burdened, undereducated or just negligent.

[mommakat64]

Labrat, if things were so great before Bush, why was Hillary in such a rush to get the country into "universal health care" the first year of Bill''s eight. And she''s still trying for it. Be creative with blame, Labrat. Health care has been a hugely growing problem for years. It started when hospitals became corporations instead of health care centers. My family was with Kaiser for 20 yrs...I complained about a bad hip and back for that many years. They handed me pills..at one point I was on 14 meds. 1 1/2 yrs out of Kaiser, I''m on 5 meds and was sent to a Neuro/orthopedic surgeon who took an xray and found scoliosis, not sciatica, and it''s too late for any help, just pain and paralysis. HMOs and Kaiser type places of business, NOT health, don''t allow any real help for patients...that might cut into the profits. Now medications are obscenely priced and hospitals are becoming places were people die because people only go there when they really, really have to...but, by then, while they still can''t afford it and, usually, it''s too late. A hospice is a better place than most hospitals. Get this, the Oregon Health Plan won''t OK a woman''s cancer treatment (it costs too much for them to include in their plan), BUT, they''ll pay for the pain meds to help her die...***?!?! BTW, Labrat, Oregon is run by Dems lock, stock and barrel.

[mommakat64]

Why was my name/password suddenly wrong????

I was merely telling the folks on this blog about my scoliosis...it''s an hereditary curved/twisted spine disease, that causes pain that can seem like sciatica, but it gets steadily worse. It''s to the point were I am in pretty constant pain, with some paralysis and numbness in my right hip and thigh. My Neuro/Orthopedic surgeon has told me that if it gets worse, they''ll have to operate to remove the nerve from my back. When I bend at the waist and uncover my back, you can faintly see the curve. 28 years ago, I was told during a physical exam that I''d had it from my late teens, but it had stopped. No one caught for almost 30 years. But my pain and disablity grew, now it''s too late to fix it.

[slim1h2o]

I guess they got their money and that was all they were concerned about anyhow.

Posted by SkyFive at 11:40 PM : Aug 19, 2008

It''s all about the money, and sc/rew the patient.

These doctors and hospitals that prey on patients will certainly burn in he11.

[tootall10142]

I was arrested and jailed for ninety days because i told my mothers doctors that if a independent autopsy showed negligence then a law suit would never enter the picture.I told them they would not live long enough to make it to court.If they had any doubts about thier ability to treat her right and with compassion then they neede to for thier sake speak up right now.I did my ninety days and when i got out of county i set for three weeks at the hospital and was there every time her doctors came and went.i intimidated the hell out them .Now with said i will tell you she has three grandsona that are doctors and they thought this was not only a little amusing but when they came to visit her the doctors would come around.She is fine now and at home .

Defending himself in the report, the unidentified male nurse told investigators, "I am the pro of the hospital. The other nurses call me to put in IVs that they cannot get in."
--------------
Now that''s reassuring.

[erasmus81]

Wonder why we dont hear stories like this from countries with universal health care? ------------------------------------- Posted by onemoretim


Because those governments also control the flow of information, and simply choose not to release the reports. Posted by DaVicar2 at 07:57 AM : Aug 20, 2008

I think you should stick to what you know. Which isn''t much from the sounds of it.

[jdubs63]

baptox............. if you witnessed this dressing change tthen why did you NOT speak up?I would not let this fly by me. Everyone wants to complain and have a better story but do do something at that moment ...

[paganmama]

Why didn''t the article mention the names of these hospitals? We have the right to know.

In July US News and World Report ran a list of the "best hospitals" in the US. Looks like they should follow-up with a list of the worst.

[makemyday2da]

PaganMama - There''s a link in the first paragraph of the article which will take you to a site that lists the hospitals. Since my oldest son was hospitalized a few days ago near San Diego, I was anxious to check it out. Fortunately, the hospital was NOT listed among those penalized.

[patriot12436]

I agree. If a perrsn is illegal they should be denied treatment. It is our dime and i am tired of paying for t.