Septicemia Cases Dismissed at Prime Healthcare Hospitals

ONTARIO, Calif., Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Prime Healthcare Services is pleased to announce that the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on Sept. 30 officially dismissed all of the cases related to the diagnosis and coding of septicemia at Prime Healthcare hospitals. While CDPH found no deficiencies with the diagnosis and coding with cases related to malnutrition, it noted certain issues with follow up care. These issues have already been addressed and corrected.

The cases were related to surveys performed by CDPH in response to allegations of improprieties by SEIU and repeated by state Sen. Ed Hernandez.

Both SEIU and Sen. Hernandez have repeatedly made baseless accusations on these issues, both publicly and to CDPH, and have sought to block Prime Healthcare's attempts to save failing hospitals in order to advance the financial interests of SEIU and others acting in concert with SEIU.  

"While it was certainly unfortunate that SEIU and Sen. Hernandez made such baseless allegations, we are pleased that CDPH considered all of the evidence presented by the hospitals and independent physicians in finding that there were no deficiencies related to the diagnosis and coding of septicemia," said Suzanne Richards, RN, BSN, MBA, MPH, Prime Healthcare's Chief Clinical Officer. "Hopefully, Sen. Hernandez will consider all of the facts rather than relying on allegations from SEIU before making demands upon CDPH in the future."

CDPH's recent findings are consistent with those of Joint Commission and the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), two Medicare accreditation organizations that previously found no evidence to support SEIU and Sen. Hernandez's allegations after conducting surveys at 10 of Prime Healthcare's hospitals.

Prime Healthcare Services

Ontario, CA-based Prime Healthcare Services, recognized as one of the top 10 health systems in the country, is a progressive, innovative and rapidly expanding hospital management company with a mission to provide comprehensive quality healthcare in a compassionate, convenient and cost-effective manner. With over 10,000 employees, Prime Healthcare Services currently owns and operates 12 acute care facilities: Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Chino Valley Medical Center, Desert Valley Hospital, Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center, Huntington Beach Hospital, La Palma Intercommunity Hospital, Paradise Valley Hospital, San Dimas Community Hospital, Shasta Regional Medical Center, Sherman Oaks Hospital, and West Anaheim Medical Center.  Nine of these hospitals are accredited by Joint Commission and seven of the nine hospitals were recently recognized as Top Performers in the Nation (Top 14%) on Key Quality Measures by Joint Commission, a Medicare accreditation agency.

SOURCE Prime Healthcare Services