SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health on Wednesday announced that 12 California hospitals have been assessed administrative penalties after it was determined the facilities’ noncompliance with licensing requirements caused, or was likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients.

The following hospitals received penalties:

– Alameda Hospital, Alameda, Alameda County: The hospital failed to develop and implement written policies and procedures to ensure the safe and effective administration of medication. This is the first administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

– Brotman Medical Center, Culver City, Los Angeles County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it failed to follow its policies and procedures for fall prevention. This is the second administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

– California Men’s Colony, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County: The hospital failed to implement written policies and procedures to ensure the safe and effective administration of medication. This is the first administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

– Dominican Hospital, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County: The hospital failed to develop and implement written policies and procedures to ensure the safe and effective administration of medication. This is the third administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $75,000.

– Emanuel Medical Center, Turlock, Stanislaus County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow its surgical policies and procedures. This is the second administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $75,000.

– Kaiser Foundation Hospital & Rehabilitation Center – Vallejo, Vallejo, Solano County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow its surgical policies and procedures. This is the second administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

– LAC+USC Medical Center, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it failed to implement written policies and procedures to ensure the safe and effective administration of medication. This is the fourth administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

– Riverside Community Hospital, Riverside, Riverside County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow its surgical policies and procedures. This is the first administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

– Stanislaus Surgical Hospital, Modesto, Stanislaus County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow its surgical policies and procedures. This is the first administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

– Sutter Delta Medical Center, Antioch, Contra Costa County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of its patient when it failed to follow its policies and procedures related to ongoing patient monitoring and assessment and provision of patient care. This is the first administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

– Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Torrance, Los Angeles County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow its surgical policies and procedures. This is the first administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

– UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, San Francisco County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow its surgical policies and procedures. This is the fifth administrative penalty issued to this hospital. The penalty is $50,000.

Administrative penalties are issued under authority granted by Health and Safety Code section 1280.1.

New legislation took effect Jan. 1, 2009, that increased fines for incidents that occurred in 2009 or later.

Under the new provisions, an administrative penalty carries a fine of $50,000 for the first violation, $75,000 for the second, and $100,000 for the third or subsequent violation at the same hospital. Incidents that occurred prior to 2009 carry a fine of $25,000 and are not counted in this total.

When hospitals receive their survey findings, they are required to provide CDPH with a plan of correction to prevent future incidents.

Hospitals can appeal an administrative penalty by requesting a hearing within 10 calendar days of notification. If a hearing is requested, the penalties must be paid if upheld following an appeal.

All hospitals in California are required to be in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations governing general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, and special hospitals. The hospitals are required to comply with these standards to ensure quality of care.