SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) cited 14 California hospitals today for administrative penalties after determining that the facilities’ noncompliance with licensing requirements caused, or was likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients.

The fines total $825,000.

“We have a commitment to ensuring quality patient care for every Californian,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of CDPH and the state public health officer. “We work with hospitals to ensure they meet licensing requirements and share our goal of excellence in care.”

The following hospitals received penalties:

– California Hospital Medical Center – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures relating to the initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The penalty is $75,000. This is the hospital’s second administrative penalty.

– Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Fountain Valley, Orange County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures relating to the competency of a licensed vocation nurse. The penalty is $25,000. This is the hospital’s third administrative penalty.

– John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Indio, Riverside County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s fifth administrative penalty.

– Kaiser Foundation Hospital – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures relating to cardiac monitoring. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

– Kaiser Foundation Hospital – San Francisco, San Francisco, San Francisco County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures relating to self-administered bedside medications. The penalty is $100,000. This is the hospital’s third administrative penalty.

– Kaiser Foundation Hospital – South San Francisco, South San Francisco, San Mateo County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object. The penalty is $75,000. This is the hospital’s second administrative penalty.

– Menlo Park Surgical Hospital, Menlo Park, San Mateo County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established surgical policies and procedures. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

– Saint Agnes Medical Center, Fresno, Fresno County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s fourth administrative penalty.

– Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco, San Francisco County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

– Simi Valley Hospital & Health Care Services, Simi Valley, Ventura County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo an additional surgery to remove a retained foreign object. The penalty is $25,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

– St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton, Orange County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. The penalty is $100,000. This is the hospital’s fourth administrative penalty.

– St. Mary’s Medical Center, San Francisco, San Francisco County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient during a transfer. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

– Stanford Hospital, Stanford, Santa Clara County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures relating to tracheostomy care. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.

– University of California, Irvine Medical Center, Orange, Orange County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object. The penalty is $75,000. This is the hospital’s fourth administrative penalty.

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

Incidents that occurred prior to 2009 carry a fine of $25,000. 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 by the licensee. Incidents that occurred prior to 2009 are not counted when determining the fine amounts.

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 and the penalty upheld following an appeal, the penalties must be paid.

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.