Nursing home slapped with fine

A Huntington Beach nursing home has been fined by the state after a patient died due to staff failing to administer CPR, according to a report by the Department of Public Health.

The Huntington Valley Health Care Center was one of two nursing homes fined by the state this week, along with Alamitos West Healthcare Center in Los Alamitos. A male patient died at the home March 3 after having a massive cardiac arrest, according to the report.

The registered nurse on duty did not call 911 while the patient was dying, believing his file stated he did not want to be resuscitated, although the file actually stated he “did want life sustaining measures in an emergency situation,” the report states.

The nursing home was slapped with an “AA” citation, the state’s most severe penalty. It was fined $80,000 and had to submit a report to the state outlining how it will prevent similar problems in the future, said Ralph Montano, a spokesman for the Department of Public Health.

Curt Rodriguez, a Huntington Valley Healthcare Center administrator, said the hospital was in discussion with the state about appealing the fine, but couldn’t discuss the case, citing privacy issues.

In addition to the fine, Montano said the nursing home can’t receive another “AA” citation within the next two years, or the federal government will withdraw all MediCal and Medicaid funding.