In Brief: CDPH Fines Nursing Home $100K; Prime Hospitals Targeted By Ransomware

CDPH Fines L.A. Nursing Home $100K

The California Department of Public Health has fined the Verdugo Valley Skilled Nursing & Wellness Centre $100,000 for a 2014 incident in which a patient died from pulmonolgy-related issues that were not properly addressed.

The fine also was accompanied with a “AA” citation, the most severe under state law.

According to the CDPH report, family members of the 58-year-old patient had expressed ongoing concerns regarding his health. He had been diagnosed with chronic obstrutive pulmonary disease and had breathing problems for weeks.

The patient’s care plan included a daily assessment of breathing function. A CDPH report concluded that the patient was not regularly examined, and was not referred to a pulmonologist or other physicians in a timely manner. 

More than two months had passed during the summer of 2014 without the patient being examined by a physician, the CDPH report concluded, despite his deteriorating condition. And for much of June and July of 2014, the patient did not receive daily examinations from nursing staff to assess his condition.

By the time the patient was transferred to an acute care hospital, he was diagnosed with both pneumonia and sepsis -- medical conditions that were associated with his lack of receiving timely care. The patient died six days after being transferred to a hospital.

The facility agreed to a variety of corrections, including ongoing training of its nursing staff to ensure more regular monitoring of patients, including not only their symptoms and appearance, but whether or not they are consuming their meals.

Prime Hospitals Targeted By Ransomware

Chino Valley Medical Center in Chino and Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville were the victims of ransomware attacks last week, according to published reports. Both facilities are owned by Ontario-based for-profit hospital operator Prime Healthcare Services. 

Prime officials essentially acknowledged there was an incident to California HealthLine, but declined to say whether a ransom was paid. Both hospitals continue to operate, although Prime did close down some of its healthcare IT systems as a precaution, it told California HealthLine.

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles was the victim of a ransomware attack last month. The hospital paid a ransom in bitcoin that was the equivalent of $17,000 in order to have control of its computer systems returned.

Steve King, chief operating officer for Netswitch Technology Management, a South San Francisci-based healthcare IT consulting firm, told Payers & Providers that many hospitals in California are vulnerable to ransomware hacks. 

“They haven’t paid much attention historically to network security,” King said, adding that many lack safeguards from such attacks.

An interview with King is available on the Payers & Providers podcast. A link to the podcast may be accessed here.