Report raises red flag on infection control at Burbank, CA-based Providence hospital

On Nov. 27, one patient had a wound infection in her groin after an operation at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, CA. Another patient, who was in the hospital because of a blocked bowel, had a drug-resistant form of staphylococcus bacteria detected in his urine. But the hospital employee assigned to track and prevent the spread of infections and communicable diseases was unaware that the two patients were in the hospital, and an inspection the next day revealed other problems, according to state regulators. Citing such problems, the state inspectors said the hospital had "serious deficiencies," and federal officials said it did not meet Medicare's standards for infection control.