State Shuts Down Hospital

State shuts down Rancho Cucamonga hospital over alleged violations
AP | 5.26.04

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – State regulators have temporarily shut down Angels Hospital, saying staff at the facility deprived patients of nourishment, failed to change respiratory equipment and relied on paramedics to resuscitate heart patients.

“I’ve never seen anything quite this dysfunctional,” said Brenda Klutz, deputy director of the state Department of Health Services, which regulates hospitals.

At least four patients died…

State regulators allege that staff at Angels Hospital:

• asked paramedics on at least three occasions to handle medical emergencies because no doctor was available.
• administered too little or no liquid nutrition to patients who needed the fluid to help their bodies repair damaged tissue.
• changed ventilator tubes only when they were visibly soiled to save money.
• left cardiac telemetry machines unmonitored for three hours on March 21 and turned the machines’ volume so low they couldn’t be heard throughout the unit.
• shorted patients’ medicines and failed to follow doctors’ orders for consultations with other specialty physicians.
• maintained inadequate staffing levels and employed inadequately trained staff.