Head Injury Results in Death, Fines, and Citations
The California Department of Public Health issued a "AA" citation, the state's most severe citation, and fined Hemet Valley Healthcare Center $100,000 after a resident taking two blood thinners died after suffering a blow to the head. Olga Baroncini, 81, died on September 16, 2007 at Loma Linda University Medical Center. She was sent to Hemet Valley Healthcare Center to recover from colitis, deep venous thrombosis, and pulmonary embolus.
Ms. Baroncini suffered a head injury on September 14 during physical therapy. There remains some confusion over whether she struck her head on the back of a chair or on a bedrail while being assisted by a physical therapist. The physical therapist did not report the injury because he did not think it was serious. The nurse on duty did not check Ms. Baroncini for changes in her condition nor did she report the head injury to the doctor, in violation of facility policies and procedures. Why? Because she didn't think it was "anything big". The nurse has since been fired.
Ms. Baroncini's blood pressure dropped and she lost consciousness the next day. She was taken to the hospital and transferred to another hospital where she was removed from life support and died. Her death may have been preventable had her physician been notified. If the nurse had reported the injury to a doctor, Ms. Baroncini could have been removed from the blood thinners she was taking and tests could have been performed sooner. Facility officials did not report Ms. Baroncini's death to the state, even though they were aware of it.
