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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – State and local authorities have fined two hospitals in the Kaiser Permanente Bay area more than $ 184,000 in recent months for failing to report when employees were infected with the COVID-19, officials said.
Cal / OSHA, the state agency that oversees workplace safety, fined the health giant’s San Jose facility more than $ 85,000 in November after remaining silent when one of its employees was hospitalized for a week with COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic, Mercury News reported.
Santa Clara County officials fined the same hospital $ 43,000 this month for failing to report a deadly coronavirus outbreak that could have been caused by an inflatable holiday costume worn by an infected staff member without knowing it on Christmas day. The number of cases linked to this outbreak has reached 60 employees and one staff member has died.
Santa Clara County officials said they learned of the Christmas Day outbreak in January after the Oakland Hospital chain issued a press release. They imposed fines of $ 1,000 for each of the first 43 cases. Kaiser is responsible for timely reporting of cases, the county said.
Cal / OSHA also fined Kaiser Hospital in Antioch in December, $ 56,000 after the hospital failed to immediately report that two employees had been hospitalized with coronavirus in May and July, among other violations for maintain a safe working environment in the midst of the pandemic.
In a statement released Monday, the hospital network pointed out that the $ 85,000 state sanction imposed on San Jose hospital stemmed from statements made last spring as the virus was new and regulations constantly evolving. He said he was appealing the fine.
“Above all, they have absolutely nothing to do with what happened at Kaiser Permanente San Jose on December 25,” Kaiser said.
Cal / OSHA said Monday it was also investigating “subsequent illnesses and complaints” at Kaiser Hospital in San Jose.
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