Jul 27, 2007 2:04 pm US/Pacific
King-Harbor Nurse Fired After Patient Cuts Herself
The nurse caring for a psychiatric patient who cut herself with a scalpel in an emergency room bathroom at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital this week has been fired, it was reported Thursday.
The nurse, a temporary employee, apparently did not arrange for someone to monitor the patient to ensure that she did not harm herself, according to an internal county memo cited by the Los Angeles Times.
Another supervising nurse was placed on administrative leave after the incident, according to The Times.
The patient, a female awaiting evaluation, probably obtained the scalpel from the King-Harbor emergency room, according to the memo from county health chief Dr. Bruce Chernof to county supervisors, The Times reported.
The patient apparently cut herself early Tuesday morning, and her injuries were not serious, county officials said.
Federal evaluators this week are conducting a survey of King-Harbor that could determine the Willowbrook hospital's future. If the troubled facility fails, it will lose $200 million in federal money, which would prompt county supervisors to close it down.
After the scalpel incident, federal officials cited the hospital Tuesday for placing patients in "immediate jeopardy." County health officials then submitted a preliminary corrective plan to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which the agency accepted, The Times reported.
The county Department of Health Services must supply a more detailed plan to federal investigators before they conclude the King-Harbor review.
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