Health Inspections

Re "The Dirty Kitchens in the County's Health Department," Opinion, Dec 7: As a Department of Health Services inspector it comes as no surprise to me and my co-workers that the mismanagement of our department has finally come to light. We were directed to make more inspections than we could possibly perform properly, because numbers were more important to management than quality work. Numerous policy violations by management were ignored. There is a firmly established old-boys network that is both inefficient and takes care of its own. MARTHA LOPEZ Registered Environmental Health Specialist III, Ontario

Armed with a new county report citing the health dangers of feces, urine and hypodermic needles recently found on Los Angeles' skid row, city officials could resume controversial cleanup sweeps of the downtown area's streets and sidewalks. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health inspected a nine-block area and discovered human waste, injection needles, condoms and a rat infestation in violation of county and state health codes. City officials say they have cleaned up the waste and debris cited by inspectors last month.

With hours until sunset and a slew of relatives in town to celebrate the traditional Passover Seder, Eliat Levitan came to Valley Glatt Market to pick up a few last-minute items for the big holiday. Instead, Levitan found herself in the middle of a Passover nightmare when she found the kosher market suddenly closed for a surprise health inspection. "I had to make my Passover meal, came here and the place was closed," fumed Levitan, a 48-year-old Studio City resident. "I was hysterical.

One San Bernardino County supervisor's plan to require restaurants to inform customers whether the establishment does immigration background checks on its employees was overwhelmingly rebuffed Tuesday by fellow supervisors. Supervisor Neil Derry, the measure's sponsor, was the only one to vote for the plan, which would have color-coded the A, B and C grade cards that restaurants receive during annual health inspections. Restaurants are required to display the cards. Three supervisors voted against the measure and one abstained, officials said.

A Superior Court judge has ordered Los Angeles County to refund nearly $11 million in health inspection fees it held in special accounts instead of spending it to ensure that food sold in restaurants and supermarkets is safe. On Tuesday, as the Board of Supervisors--prodded by a KCBS-TV Channel 2 investigation--ordered the health department to report on its inspections of supermarkets, officials pondered the broader implications of the judge's ruling.

The county Board of Supervisors created a hotline Tuesday for restaurant owners to report improprieties by health inspectors. The decision was made a day after a county health inspector was arrested over an allegation that he took a bribe from a restaurant owner in exchange for an "A" grade during an inspection.

People who want to make crack must get a permit and open their drug dens to health inspections or face fines of $10,000 a day under new regulations intended to help police gain entry to crack houses. The King County regulations take effect April 1, allowing time for them to be amended and maybe even scrapped after a review by prosecutors, said Charles Kleeberg, environmental health director for the county and Seattle.

From where Steve Lorens sat, a needle etching the image of a Rottweiler into his upper back, the idea of Los Angeles County government regulating the tattoo business areas sounded absurd. "Are they going to walk around and give each tattoo an A, B, C or D?" Lorens asked as he sat in a Covina tattoo parlor, referring to the county's rating system for restaurants. "They call this America. You should be able to do what you want."

Fees for a host of county health inspections will increase between 6% and 31% on July 1, under a new fee schedule approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. James Huston, the county's assistant director of environmental health, said the county would prefer not to raise the health inspection fees for restaurants, hospitals and hotels, but the costs of the inspections have gone up since the last fee increase two years ago.

Tired of waiting for a response from the San Fernando Valley-based health clinic where an adult film actress recently tested positive for HIV, state health and safety investigators Wednesday performed a surprise inspection of the medical offices and this week will issue subpoenas demanding access to patient records.

Food trucks in Los Angeles County will soon be required to post letter grades from public health officials evaluating their food-handling practices, supervisors said Tuesday. All five county supervisors voted for the new ordinance, which received preliminary approval Tuesday but must be ratified in another vote next week. The ordinance would go into effect 30 days after the final vote in unincorporated areas of the county; local city councils must ratify the new grading plan for it to be effective within city limits.

State inspectors making a surprise follow-up visit to UC Irvine Medical Center last week found two deficiencies in "medication management" and issued an "immediate jeopardy" warning, alleging that patient care was at risk, hospital officials acknowledged Thursday. The warning, which was lifted Wednesday, is one of the most serious that can be issued to a hospital. UC Irvine Medical Center's chief executive, Terry A. Belmont, disclosed the findings by state inspectors working on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in e-mails sent to the staff this week and last week.

Federal investigators found scores of problems at UC Irvine Medical Center during a fall inspection that again put the troubled hospital's Medicare funding at risk, according to report released Thursday. In an 85-page report on their surprise October inspection, regulators said they observed poor oversight and mistakes by UCI doctors, nurses and pharmacists, leading to inadequate care that in some cases harmed patients. Among the findings: An 82-year-old man was mistakenly given a narcotic patch by a medical resident, without approval of doctors or pharmacists.

Tired of waiting for a response from the San Fernando Valley-based health clinic where an adult film actress recently tested positive for HIV, state health and safety investigators Wednesday performed a surprise inspection of the medical offices and this week will issue subpoenas demanding access to patient records.

A Georgia health inspector who toured the peanut butter plant now at the center of a national salmonella outbreak noted two violations in October, both minor. Less than three months later, federal inspectors found roaches, mold, a leaking roof and other sanitation problems. Food safety experts say the lapse is a major concern and shows that state inspectors are spread thin and might need more training on how to spot unsanitary conditions.

Orange County should give itself an F for the way it informs the public about health conditions in restaurants, according to a grand jury report released Thursday. Most residents are "in the dark" about whether a trip to a restaurant will result in a memorable meal or a stay at the hospital. The report's recommendation: Follow Los Angeles County's example by implementing a grading system that assigns each restaurant an A, B or C. "Studies . . .

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge Thursday forced hundreds of county health inspectors back into their cars to conduct health inspections, the latest twist in a bitter contract dispute that union officials warn could lead to an even larger job action against the county. "I can assure you this decision is going to cause increased labor unrest," attorney Sylvia E. Kellison told Judge Diane Wayne.

Federal investigators found scores of problems at UC Irvine Medical Center during a fall inspection that again put the troubled hospital's Medicare funding at risk, according to report released Thursday. In an 85-page report on their surprise October inspection, regulators said they observed poor oversight and mistakes by UCI doctors, nurses and pharmacists, leading to inadequate care that in some cases harmed patients. Among the findings: An 82-year-old man was mistakenly given a narcotic patch by a medical resident, without approval of doctors or pharmacists.

The honeymoon between the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and its health services director finally foundered Tuesday amid fears that a second county hospital could close. Dr. Bruce Chernof, who has headed the nation's second-largest public health system since December 2005, told the supervisors last week that the federal government would be citing Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for placing its emergency patients in "immediate jeopardy" because of overcrowding and long waits.

The Bush administration is planning to call in customs officers to help overwhelmed health inspectors protect Americans from tainted imports of food, toys and other consumer goods, senior officials said Friday, describing a new strategy for dealing with compromised products. The evolving plan, to be delivered to President Bush next month by a task force he appointed, also is expected to call for wider deployment of sophisticated technology at entry points.