SF General Hospital received its steepest fine on record from Cal/OSHA, which found the hospital did not take the proper measures to prevent violent workplace incidents prior to the fatal stabbing of a social worker in December.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has fined San Francisco General Hospital a record $130,500 for seven workplace-violence-prevention violations, six deemed serious. The fine follows the fatal stabbing of 51-year-old UCSF social worker Alberto Rangel at Ward 86, the hospital’s HIV clinic, in December, as the Chronicle reports.
As SFist reported in December, a patient, Wilfredo Tortolero-Arriechi, now 35, entered the clinic holding a kitchen knife and allegedly stabbed Rangel multiple times in the neck and shoulder while Rangel attempted to de-escalate the situation and escort him out. Rangel died two days later.
In January, Tortolero-Arriechi pleaded not guilty to the fatal stabbing, and his attorney claimed he was suffering a mental health crisis at the time.
SFist reported last week that Rangel’s husband, Stuart Moulder, announced plans to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the city. According to KQED, Nick Casper, an attorney for Moulder, pointed to similarities between the report’s findings and workplace-safety issues Cal/OSHA identified after a nurse was attacked at the hospital in 2019. The previous incident resulted in a $26,660 state fine. This latest penalty is reportedly the largest Cal/OSHA has imposed on SF General.
“The findings really paint a picture of two specific-but-related failures,” Casper said. “There were longstanding systemic deficiencies involving security, training, coordination and workplace violence prevention. And there were specific failures about appropriately responding to a known and escalating threat posed by this patient.”
The agency’s investigation identified 77 separate safety failures, including inadequate security staffing, poor coordination between hospital staff, security personnel, and law enforcement, and the lack of a clear threat-management plan for potentially violent patients, per the Chronicle.
According to the report, hospital officials failed to effectively restrict access to the clinic, screen for weapons, communicate threat information to staff, or ensure that security personnel monitored Wilfredo Jose Tortolero-Arriechi after learning he was headed to the facility. Inspectors also cited broken surveillance cameras, inconsistent security coverage, insufficient staff training, and the absence of procedures for reporting and responding to violent threats.
KQED reports that following the stabbing, the Department of Public Health says it added security staff, launched a threat-management team, installed metal detectors, and implemented other safety measures. City officials have also committed $15 million annually, along with $7.5 million in one-time infrastructure funding, toward healthcare worker safety improvements across the department.
Previously: Husband of Social Worker Killed at SF General Hospital to File Lawsuit Against City
Image: Exterior view of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center building - San Francisco, California, USA - May 26, 2024 (Getty Images)
