Medical center fined $155K for COVID-19 protocol violations

Cal/OSHA found the hospital failed to take proper precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus

The California agency that oversees workplace safety recently fined Sutter Health’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center $155,250 for failing to take certain steps to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

After a member of the California Nurses Association filed a complaint in July 2020, Cal/ OSHA inspected the Oakland hospital and recently issued eight serious citations, which the hospital has appealed..

On March 17, the agency notified Sutter of the violations, including that the hospital had failed to provide adequate protective gear for employees interacting with coronavirus patients, including patients who were agitated or had developmental delays and who were not confined to their rooms. Cal/OSHA said the hospital also failed to make sure respirators worked properly, did not limit the reuse of N95 masks and failed to properly notify employees who had been exposed to the deadly disease.

“We are glad that Cal/OSHA corroborated these warnings and complaints that we’ve been raising since the first days of the pandemic, but what’s most important is to organize and ensure Sutter learns something from all this,” Mike Hill, the chief nurse representative at the hospital, said in a statement put out by the nursing union. “We need to protect health care workers and patients from suffering harm in the first place, not after people have already died.”

In July, longtime Alta Bates nurse Janine Paiste-Ponder died from the coronavirus, prompt

ing outrage from her colleagues, who called for more protective gear and protections. Sutter said at the time it was “well-prepared” to care for all its patients.

“We know that Janine became ill when she ran after two COVID-positive patients who were in the hallways because she feared that they would infect other patients or staff,” Paula Lyn, a nurse at the hospital and union board member, said in a statement. “Because the hospital had locked up N95 respirators, and Janine was wearing only a surgical mask as per hospital policy, she was exposed and became ill. It was the hospital’s disregard for the nurses’ well-being and the selflessness of Janine’s actions that led to her tragic death.”

On Monday, the health care giant pushed back at Cal/OSHA’s findings and accused the union of politicizing Paiste-Ponder’s death.

“We disagree with Cal/ OSHA’s findings and immediately appealed the citations,” Sutter said in a statement. “None of the findings are specific to the passing of our beloved colleague. We continue to mourn her loss and are disappointed that her memory is being used for political gain.”

Sutter is not the only health care provider to be hit with violations related to the pandemic, which has killed more than 400 California health care workers and sickened more than 100,000 others. In January, Cal/OSHA cited two Kaiser Permanente medical centers more than $87,000 for coronavirus-related violations. Its Antioch location was slapped with a $56,000 penalty in December, and its San Jose Medical Center was fined more than $85,000 in November.

Kaiser earlier told this news organization it would be “misleading” to think the citations indicate ongoing violations, saying it, like other health systems, was dealing with national supply shortages and shifting public health guidelines.

In the Bay Area alone, Cal/OSHA has cited dozens of other businesses and agencies — including nursing homes, construction companies, restaurants and law enforcement.

See the list of COVID-related violations at https:// www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/COVID19citations.html.