Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Los Robles Medical Center continues to face state citations due to understaffing and a lack of care for patient well-being and consistently ranks above the statewide average of complaints, local news outlet The Echo reported March 26.
Los Robles, an affiliate of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, received 86 complaints in 2023, nearly three times higher than the statewide average of 32 that year, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
In 2022, the hospital faced 87 complaints, when the statewide average was 32. So far this year, Los Robles has received seven complaints, with the statewide average at three. The CDPH updates data quarterly.
The state has hit Los Robles with various financial citations, including fines for failing to meet staffing requirements and two incidents in which surgical equipment was left inside patients, according to the report.
"Year over year, you can see that Los Robles, who's owned by a for-profit corporate giant, HCA, which is known for profits, brags about staffing the bottom line, has 30, 40, 50% more complaints just on a day-to-day basis than other facilities in the Ventura County area," Corey Clark, RN, nurses union representative for the Service Employees International Union Local 121RN, told The Echo. "Not only do they have more complaints, they have more substantial complaints, which means the state went in and found a violation."
The Center for Health Care Quality's licensing and certification program oversees healthcare facilities and providers in California. It also investigates consumer complaints of alleged facility noncompliance with state or federal regulations and facility-reported incidents.
Anyone can file a complaint against a healthcare facility; once complaints pass the citation process, state officials can investigate the hospital in person.
Mary Meador, RN, who works at Los Robles, filed multiple complaints against the hospital and argues that inadequate staffing has been a consistent problem that negatively affects both patients and staff, according to the report.
"They understaff their hospitals, they don't give us enough nurses to help care for all the patients that we have, and it's been a problem for years," Ms. Meador told The Echo.
HCA did not respond to Becker's request for comment. Becker's also reached out to Los Robles and will update this story as more information becomes available.