Methodist 1 of 10 Hospitals Fined for Serious Medical Errors

Arcadia Methodist is one of 10 California hospitals fined for medical errors resulting in serious injury or death, The Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

The California Department of Public Health fined Methodist $50,000 for a 2010 incident in which surgeons left a sponge behind inside a patient undergoing emergency gallbladder surgery. The patient required a second surgery to remove the sponge. 

Hospital spokesman Rick Miller said the hospital learned from the incident.

"We reviewed and revised our surgical policies and procedures, to prevent similar incidents from occurring," he said. "We have also closely monitored the results of all surgical procedures through our continuous improvement process. As a result, there have been no subsequent surgeries in which a foreign object was retained. We are pleased with our culture of patient safety and quality of care."

The CDPH issued a total of $785,000 in fines for errors ranging from removing the wrong kidney to giving a patient with internal bleeding a blood thinner instead of coagulant.

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