Fountain Valley hospital fined $25,000 by state

Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center was slapped with a $25,000 administrative penalty for not following policies on the “competency of a licensed vocation nurse,” according to the California Department of Public Health.

The fine was imposed for a failure to comply with requirements that would likely cause “serious injury or death to the patient,” according to documents released by public health on Aug. 30 that can be viewed on the department’s website.

The nurse’s inadequate performance resulted from Fountain Valley Regional’s failure to provide “a written, organized in-service educational program for all patient care personnel, including temporary staff,” the documents said.

The hospital agreed to produce an educational program for its staff, said Department of Public Health spokesman Ralph Montano.

This is the hospital’s third administrative fine, according to a state-issued news release.

Fountain Valley Regional was one of 14 hospitals fined statewide by the Department of Public Health. The state is collecting $825,000 in total, the release said.

—Mona Shadia

Twitter: @MonaShadia