L.A. Council gives early OK to patient ‘dumping’ fine

Hospitals that leave homeless patients on Los Angeles streets without their consent would be fined $25,000 under an ordinance tentatively approved today by the City Council.

The council voted 12-1 to approve the measure, with Councilman Tom LaBonge the lone dissenter. Councilmen Bernard Parks and Ed Reyes were absent.

The ordinance would make it a misdemeanor offense for hospitals to transport a patient to a location other than his or her home without written consent. It is intended to end the practice of leaving vulnerable patients on skid row.

“The only reason we are here is because people have been dumped on the streets,” said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who introduced the ordinance. Perry, whose district includes much of downtown, said that the measure provided prosecutors with more tools with which to combat the problem of patient “dumping.”

The ordinance “sets up clear guidelines about what [hospitals] can and cannot do,” said Jeff Isaacs, head of the city attorney’s criminal division.

Jim Lott, executive vice president of the Hospital Assn. of Southern California, which represents more than 170 hospitals, said that his organization was not surprised by the vote. But his organization, which opposed the ordinance, “just needed to make a strong point about the risks they put hospitals in.”

Lott said that the law could place hospitals at risk of losing federal funding if they are found guilty of a misdemeanor crime. But officials from the city attorney’s office said they disagreed with that interpretation of federal law.

The City Council is expected to give final approval to the ordinance next week.

 cara.dimassa@latimes.com