Post by Logan on Jun 23, 2016 21:44:47 GMT -6
Sun Valley hospital settles for $1 million in second patient-dumping lawsuit
A San Fernando Valley hospital has agreed to pay $1 million in civil penalties to settle allegations that it put a mentally ill woman in a taxi and lost track of her for three days, Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer announced Thursday.
Under the terms of the settlement, Pacifica Hospital of the Valley admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to revamp its protocols for discharging homeless patients. It is the second time in two years that the hospital — a 231-bed facility in Sun Valley — has settled with the city attorney’s office in patient-dumping cases.
Feuer, speaking at a news conference at City Hall, said he was “very disappointed” to be dealing with Pacifica Hospital again. The settlement, he said, includes the largest civil penalty that has been imposed on a medical facility since he took office in 2013.
Pacifica Hospital on March 30 discharged 38-year-old Kasey Lucious, a patient with a history of mental illness and homelessness, after a 30-day stay. Hospital staff, without contacting her family, sent her 17 miles south by taxi to Crenshaw Nursing Home in Mid-City, Feuer said.
Read more: www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-patient-dumping-pacifica-20160623-snap-story.html
A San Fernando Valley hospital has agreed to pay $1 million in civil penalties to settle allegations that it put a mentally ill woman in a taxi and lost track of her for three days, Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer announced Thursday.
Under the terms of the settlement, Pacifica Hospital of the Valley admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to revamp its protocols for discharging homeless patients. It is the second time in two years that the hospital — a 231-bed facility in Sun Valley — has settled with the city attorney’s office in patient-dumping cases.
Feuer, speaking at a news conference at City Hall, said he was “very disappointed” to be dealing with Pacifica Hospital again. The settlement, he said, includes the largest civil penalty that has been imposed on a medical facility since he took office in 2013.
Pacifica Hospital on March 30 discharged 38-year-old Kasey Lucious, a patient with a history of mental illness and homelessness, after a 30-day stay. Hospital staff, without contacting her family, sent her 17 miles south by taxi to Crenshaw Nursing Home in Mid-City, Feuer said.
Read more: www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-patient-dumping-pacifica-20160623-snap-story.html