Hospital’s Care of Inmate Criticized
A local hospital with a contract to provide care for Orange County jail inmates has been cited by state health officials for improperly discharging a prisoner who was undergoing treatment for a serious heart ailment.
Investigators for the licensing division of the state Department of Health Services found that Western Medical Center-Anaheim violated state regulations by not making arrangements for Jesus Perez Espinosa of Orange to go to a specific doctor or clinic when they released him on Sept. 5.
Regulators said that Western Medical’s staff only advised Espinosa to go to the emergency room at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange if he felt chest pains or had difficulty breathing.
“This was not reasonable continuity of care, considering the status of his cardiac problem and advice that he needed (heart) valve surgery soon,” state officials said.
Espinosa was arrested in July on drug-related misdemeanors and held in lieu of bail. He was too ill to make court appearances and remained in custody until a judge ordered him released on Sept. 5, which Espinosa claimed was the eve of scheduled heart surgery.
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