U.S. faults King-Harbor for poor care

In the midst of a federal inspection that will determine its fate, Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital was once again cited for placing patients in “immediate jeopardy” of harm -- an ominous sign for its prospects of staying open.

Inspectors from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services levied their most serious citation against King-Harbor on Tuesday, hours after a psychiatric patient cut herself with a scalpel in an emergency room bathroom, Los Angeles County health officials confirmed Wednesday.

County officials disclosed the rebuke publicly only after The Times inquired about it.

The patient’s injuries were not serious; county health officials are investigating where the scalpel came from and how the patient gained access to it.

Jeff Flick, regional administrator of the Medicare agency, declined to comment late Wednesday. County supervisors could not be reached.

This was the second time in two months that King-Harbor, formerly known as King/Drew, has been cited for endangering patients’ health. The federal agency issued a similar warning in June after a man waited days for brain surgery before his family drove him to another hospital for the emergency procedure.

County health officials said they submitted a preliminary corrective action plan for the latest citation Tuesday night, and said it was accepted by the Medicare agency. They would not elaborate on specifics of the corrective measures; the county also reported the incident to state health officials.

“It can’t be good news at all for the hospital,” said Yolanda Vera, director of LA Health Action, a program that seeks to expand access to health coverage across the county.

“I can only hope that” inspectors will “take a look at the entire circumstances of the hospital, any improvements that have been made and any gaps that may still exist,” she said.

On Monday, federal inspectors began what is expected to be a weeklong review of the Willowbrook hospital to determine if it meets minimum Medicare standards. By definition, a citation of “immediate jeopardy” means that a hospital is in violation of meet federal standards.

If King-Harbor fails, the hospital stands to lose $200 million in federal funding, more than half its budget.

County supervisors have said that would force them to close the facility.

Separately, the state Department of Health Services has begun the process of revoking the hospital’s license, which would force its closure.

King-Harbor has been out of compliance with Medicare rules since January 2004 and has been cited repeatedly for treatment lapses that have contributed to patient deaths.

The county Department of Health Services must provide inspectors a more detailed plan of correction about the scalpel incident before they conclude their review of King-Harbor, according to a health department statement. Auditors are expected to announce their findings before Aug. 15. Since 2004, King-Harbor has been cited for putting patients in “immediate jeopardy” five times.

In addition to the citation last month, the others related to numerous prescription drug errors and using Taser stun guns to subdue out-of-control psychiatric patients.

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susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com

charles.ornstein@latimes.com