County-USC Accreditation Fully Restored; Most Problems Fixed

Officials at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center said Monday that the facility has been restored to full accreditation status, nearly a year after it was cited for life-threatening problems posed by its deteriorating physical plant.

The 2,045-bed medical center was put on probation last year after surveyors from the Joint Council on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations found the medical center lacking in 19 of 54 areas evaluated. Inspectors cited the hospital for lacking a fire sprinkler system and other safety features, as well as for problems in medical staff administration.

Deficiencies included problems in the medical center’s quality assurance programs and its medical staff monitoring system, which are designed to minimize the risks that patients will be harmed in the hospital or cared for by unqualified individuals.

A hospital that loses its accreditation jeopardizes the funding it receives through the government-sponsored Medicare and Medi-Cal programs. In addition, teaching hospitals such as County-USC could lose certification of their medical residency training programs.

“The hospital has been informed that all major deficiencies have been corrected and the facility is now in substantial compliance with all . . . standards,” with the exception of the problems with the physical plant, said Harvey Kern, spokesman for the medical center.

In September, 1989, inspectors from the council noted many problems in the medical center’s aging facilities, particularly its lack of a fire sprinkler system. The hospital was cited in June, 1990.

Kern said the medical center has instituted a 24-hour fire watch and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is moving ahead with a master plan to replace the facility with two new hospitals, one at the existing East Los Angeles site and the other one in the San Gabriel Valley. Accreditation council officials are planning to re-survey the medical center in six months to check for progress in implementing the plan and maintaining fire patrols.