Lapses in infection control were found at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai hospitals by California state health inspectors, according to an article on the Los Angeles Times website. 

At UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, the state declared an “immediate jeopardy” – meaning lives were at imminent risk – after finding staff using contaminated water and a tainted liquid cleaner dispenser being used to ready colonoscopes and other devices for the next patients.

At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, inspectors found a “widespread pattern of potential ineffective sterilization and storage of surgical instruments” as well as problems with the disinfection of scopes.

Both hospitals worked to fix the inspectors’ concerns, with the “immediate jeopardy” designation lifted after just three hours at UCLA and a day at Cedars. On follow-up visits, the state found the problems had not continued.

Read the article.