Ten hospitals in the Los Angeles area are under investigation for improper patient discharge practices, reports the Los Angeles Times, and the Los Angeles City Attorney has filed both civil and criminal charges against one of them, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. The scrutiny stems from Kaiser’s alleged “dumping” on skid row of a homeless 63-year-old hospital patient with dementia. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which plans to file another lawsuit on behalf of the patient, said the case is the first in the nation involving “a joint effort by government and civil rights groups to halt the practice of hospital dumping.” The City Attorney’s criminal complaint charges Kaiser with two criminal counts, including false imprisonment and dependent adult endangerment. The civil lawsuit against Kaiser alleges two claims under the California Business and Professions Code for unlawful and unfair business practices with respect to the hospital’s treatment of homeless patients and its failure to follow state law mandating appropriate discharge planning for all patients. The suit seeks civil penalties for $2,500 for each violation, including each day Kaiser failed to adopt and implement appropriate written policies relating to patient discharge.
A Kaiser spokeswoman told the Times that the lawsuit came as a surprise, because Kaiser had changed its practices since the incident with the patient occurred in March. “As soon as we heard about it, we said this is not how we do business,” said Diana Bonta, vice president of public affairs for Kaiser Southern California. “And we apologized. Since then, we have been talking not only with the city attorney’s office, but we’ve worked with the agencies that service the homeless.” Kaiser now uses a van to transport discharged patients to skid row instead of taxis, a shelter on skid row is notified in advance that a patient is arriving, and the driver must bring the patient inside the facility. Read the City Attorney's news release.
