The California Department of Public Health on Wednesday issued $25,000 penalties against 13 hospitals -- including seven in Los Angeles and Orange counties -- for serious violations that, in some cases, led to patient deaths.
Each violation comes with a $25,000 fine, part of an ongoing effort to hold hospitals more accountable for placing patients at risk of death or serious injury.
The disclosures come as a result of a state law that took effect in 2007 requiring hospitals to inform health regulators of all substantial injuries to their patients.
UC Irvine Medical Center was the only facility to get two penalties -- $50,000 in fines.
In one case, a UCI patient reported that she had been "inappropriately touched 'vaginally' " by a male nursing assistant last September. State investigators found that it took the hospital three days to place the man on leave. "Other staff members felt he was a good employee," according to a state investigation report, which noted that he had no history of complaints.
Hospital spokesman John Murray said the employee is no longer working at the hospital and the matter was turned over to the Orange County district attorney's office for review.
In the second UCI case, a patient fell when reaching for the sink on the way to a bathroom last June. The fall caused bleeding in the brain, and the patient later died. At the time of the fall, the nurse assigned to the patient had left the area without informing colleagues. The hospital has since implemented a fall prevention program and teaching plan, provided high-risk patients with nonskid red socks and made bedside equipment available, including walkers.
"We are committed to redoubling our efforts to ensure the safety of each and every patient in our care," said Terry A. Belmont, UCI Medical Center's chief executive.
Other incidents that resulted in fines include:
* At St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, a surgeon left inside the patient a 10-by-10-inch plastic drape while performing a hysterectomy last July. The surgeon immediately realized his mistake and quickly brought the patient back in for a second surgery. The hospital performed a "root-cause analysis to make sure what had happened never happens again," said Dr. Michael Marino, the hospital's chief medical officer.
