Westside : ACCREDITATION RETAINED
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations has announced that it will maintain the accreditation of the Veterans Affairs hospital in West Los Angeles, despite the accidental scalding death of a patient there last February.
The accreditation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center had been questioned when it was learned that Thomas O’Neil, 45, a brain-damaged patient, had died after being left unattended in a tub of water heated to more than 160 degrees.
Hospital officials said the staff failed to transfer O’Neil immediately to a burn-care center. A coroner’s report showed that the victim had burns over 80% of his body.
The commission said it did not find sufficient evidence that the overall health and safety of patients at the Veterans hospital are threatened, said Kathy Barry, spokeswoman for the organization.
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