The California Department of Public Health conducted an unannounced inspection of Mammoth Hospital last week. Officials confirmed that inspectors had problems with pharmaceuticals and with medical staff practices.mammoth_hospital.jpg

Mammoth Hospital Board Chairman Don Sage confirmed that the inspection took place last week. He said that 'a lot of paperwork has to be up to date and corrected." More specifically, Sage said that a "risky" painkiller dispensed by the hospital is subject to new regulations. Sage said the hospital will remove that particular drug from what is dispensed.

Another problem noted by the state – the lack of what's called proctoring of one physician to another. Doctors are required to supervise each other for the best medical care. Sage said that "when you have a small staff, it's hard. Some of the doctors had not been proctored."

Sage said the State will return in 60 days to see what corrections have been made. Asked about rumors that financial and administrative matters had been commented on by the State, Mr. Sage said 'some signatures were missing on documents." He said that there were no financial issues raised by the State, but he did add that a special company is at work on Mammoth Hospital's entire financial situation. Sage said he and board member Helen Shepherd have been meeting with the Camden Group every other week. The next step – a full-time Chief Financial Officer, which is in the works.

The State Department of Public Health, which oversees certification and licensing of hospitals, said that documents on the Mammoth Hospital inspection would be made public when the investigation process is done.

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