SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued 10 penalties to seven California hospitals and fines totaling $775,000 after investigations found the facilities’ noncompliance with licensing requirements caused, or was likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients.

The following hospitals received penalties:

– Adventist Medical Center, Hanford, Kings County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures for safe distribution and administration of medication. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s third administrative penalty.
– Fresno Surgical Hospital, Fresno, Fresno 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 $75,000. This is the hospital’s second administrative penalty.
– Memorial Medical Center, Modesto, Stanislaus County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established surgical policies and procedures related to patient care. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.
– Memorial Medical Center, Modesto, Stanislaus County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures related to patient care. The penalty is $75,000. This is the hospital’s second administrative penalty.
– Placentia Linda Hospital, Placentia, 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 patient protection. The penalty is $50,000. This is the hospital’s first administrative penalty.
– Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, Santa Clara County: The hospital failed to ensure the health and safety of a patient when it did not follow established policies and procedures related to care in emergency situations. The penalty is $100,000. This is the hospital’s third administrative penalty.
– St. Mary’s Medical Center, 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 $75,000. This is the hospital’s second administrative penalty.
– St. Mary’s Medical Center, 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 for safe distribution and administration of medication. The penalty is $100,000. This is the hospital’s third administrative penalty.
– 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 surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object. The penalty is $100,000. This is the hospital’s seventh administrative penalty.
– 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 surgical policies and procedures. This resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object. The penalty is $100,000. This is the hospital’s eighth 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 ten 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.