The California Department of Public Health has fined the Placerville Pines Care Center $100,000 for a 2006 incident in which one of its patients died.
Along with the state's stiffest fine, the Placerville skilled nursing facility received an "AA" citation, the most severe penalty under state law.
Skilled nursing facilities care for patients who do not need acute hospital care but still require the skills of professional personnel such as nurses.
The El Dorado County facility will "vigorously contest" the penalty, according to Placerville Pines' prepared statement. "Placerville Pines has consistently maintained regulatory compliance," it said.
In summer 2006, a male patient arrived at Placerville Pines after being discharged from a hospital, according to the state health investigation. The state declined to reveal the patient's identity.
The patient stayed for several months, and when his condition took a turn for the worse, Placerville Pines staff failed take any action on several occasions, the state said.
A doctor was not called until a visiting family member noticed that the patient was "difficult to arouse, unable to speak coherently," the state said.
By the time the patient arrived at the emergency room, he was semiconscious, dehydrated and had low blood pressure. He died as a direct consequence of Placerville Pines' negligence, according to the state investigation.
This is the second fine Placerville Pines has received this month. On Oct. 1, the facility received a "B" class citation and a $1,000 fine for keeping a loaded gun in an unlocked office for more than four years.
According to the investigation, an administrator had joked about having a pistol in a drawer, and nobody could remember how it got there.
California state penalties against health care facilities range from $100 to $100,000.
The Department of Public Health would revoke licenses of facilities that receive two "AA" citations within a 24-month period.
Call The Bee's Anna Tong, (916) 321-1045.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.