Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center Fined for Serious Violation

Center was among five Southern California  hospitals and 14 medical facilities fined a total of $825,000 for failure to comply with state licensing requirements, the California Department of Public Health reported Thursday.

Officials said the non-compliance either caused or was likely to cause serious injury or death to patients.

``We have a commitment to ensuring quality patient care for every Californian,'' said Dr. Ron Chapman, CDPH director.

Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center was fined $25,000 for not following established policies and procedures relating to the competency of a licensed vocation nurse. The fine was the hospital's third administrative penalty.

Other local hospitals penalized are:

• St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, fined $100,000 for not following surgical policies, resulting in a failure to ensure the health and safety of a patient. The fine was the hospital's fourth administrative penalty
• UCI Medical Center in Orange, fined $75,000 for not following surgical policies and procedures. The failure resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to removed a retained foreign object. The fine was the hospital's fourth administrative penalty.
• California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles, fined $75,000 for failure ``to ensure the health and safety of a patient.'' Authorities said the hospital did not follow procedures relating to the initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The fine was the hospital's second administrative penalty.
• Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles, fined $50,000 for not following established policies relating to cardiac monitoring. It was the hospital's first administrative penalty.

- City News Service