Feds investigate LA hospital
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
July 25, 2007
Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) investigators are examining Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital after a series of high-profile patient safety snafus, failed inspections, and state attempts to strip the hospital of its license, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The hospital recently made news when video of a patient writhing in pain on a waiting room floor made it to national news broadcasts. Staff at the hospital allegedly refused to help the patient, who later died at another hospital. A second case involved a brain surgeon patient waiting days for an emergency procedure. Family members evenutally gave up and drove the patient to another hospital.
The final report should be released by August 15, according to the CMS.
