Something was amiss last fall at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.
On Nov. 27, one patient had a wound infection in her groin after an operation. Another patient, who was in the hospital because of a blocked bowel, had a drug-resistant form of staphylococcus bacteria detected in his urine.
Yet the hospital employee assigned to track and prevent the spread of infections and communicable diseases was unaware that the two patients were in the hospital, according to state inspectors working on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
An inspection the next day revealed other problems. An anesthesiologist who should have been wearing sanitized scrubs was found wearing, in the operating room, a black fleece jacket that had visible stains and spots on the back. Visibly soiled cloth tape held up paper notices in a different operating room.
Citing such problems, the state inspectors said the hospital, the largest serving the San Fernando Valley, had "serious deficiencies," and federal officials said it did not meet Medicare's standards for infection control.
If it does not resolve those problems, the 431-bed nonprofit hospital could be stripped of federal funding.
It is common for complaints to be lodged against a hospital, which prompts an investigation by public health officials. Investigators determine whether the complaint is substantiated. If deficiencies are found, they usually do not rise to the level at which federal officials determine that the hospital fails to meet Medicare's standard.
"It has to be really egregious," said Chris Cahill, a retired hospital inspector for the California Department of Public Health.
Healthcare experts say that keeping a hospital clean is crucial for the prevention of hospital-acquired infections, and that reducing infections would save not only lives, but also money for the cash-strapped U.S. healthcare system.
In an interview last week, hospital officials said they did not believe the medical center had poor hygienic practices or an "infection problem." They pointed to its ranking on CalHospitalCompare.org, a website that tracks statewide hospital performance. The site ranks Providence Saint Joseph "above average" in "surgical infection prevention."
But the officials acknowledged opportunities for improvement and have launched new sanitation procedures and hired new staff.
