The California Department of Public Health penalized eight hospitals in the state for deficiencies that caused or were likely to cause serious patient harm, with fines totaling $483,650.
The following is a breakdown of penalized hospitals and the problems that caused the penalty.
1. Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno was fined $86,625 because the hospital "failed to develop and implement operating room…policy and procedure" of OR counts after surgery to prevent retained foreign objects and a patient suffered. This was the fourth time the hospital put patients in immediate jeopardy and was penalized.
2. Kaiser Foundation Hospital-Fontana (Calif.) was fined $75,000 after a patient fell from a scan table and subsequently died. It was its second immediate jeopardy penalty.
3. Kaiser Foundation Hospital-Santa Rosa (Calif.) was fined $50,000 for its first immediate jeopardy penalty after a patient suffered a retained foreign object after surgery.
4. San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp, Calif., was fined $75,000 after a medication error caused a patient death. This was the hospital's second time in immediate jeopardy.
5. Sonoma (Calif.) Valley Hospital was fined $50,000 after a patient suffered a retained foreign object.
6. Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton was fined $50,000 in its first immediate jeopardy penalty after surgery was performed on the wrong body part of a patient.
7. Ventura (Calif.) Country Medical Center was fined $50,000 in its third immediate jeopardy penalty after the hospital did not remove objects of harm from a psychiatric patient who subsequently committed suicide in the hospital.
8. Vibra Hospital of San Diego was fined $47,025 after staff failed to respond to a patient's ventilator alarm.