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ANAHEIM, Calif. () — Ambulances are no longer allowed to transport patients to Anaheim Global Medical Center after Orange County health officials suspended the hospital’s Emergency Receiving Center designation.
The Orange County Health Care Agency issued the suspension Wednesday, halting all 911 ambulance arrivals.
In a statement, Dr. Almaas Shaikh, OCHCA interim EMS medical director, said, “Effective immediately, Anaheim Global Medical Center’s Emergency Receiving Center designation has been suspended by OC Emergency Medical Services. This suspension applies to patients arriving via the 911 system. The hospital’s emergency department remains open and continues to accept walk-in patients. At this time, no duration has been established for the suspension.”
County officials have not disclosed what led to the action. However, a spokesperson for Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who represents the district, said the hospital had issues involving its license to operate clinical lab services.
Sarmiento called the suspension “unsettling,” adding in a statement, “This hospital serves some of our most vulnerable residents and is part of the network of care that patients rely on in central Orange County. The suspension of their Emergency Receiving status is unsettling. Especially given the recent instances of significant patient care issues at other related facilities over the past two years. It is my hope that the hospital operators take the suspension period to correct the issues that led to the suspension and meet all their regulatory obligations. As a County Supervisor and Chairman of CalOptima, I support increased oversight to ensure these critical medical facilities serve patients well and provide the highest standard of care.”
Anaheim Global Medical Center is owned by KPC Health. Last year, another KPC facility – Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana – had a separate designation suspended when it was barred from receiving stroke patients.
Residents living near the Anaheim hospital said the news worries them.
“That’s not right. I don’t like to hear that because I have an elderly care, I’m a care provider and take care of our elderly. And this is the convenience and most closest place to come to,” said Anaheim resident Jamario Williams.
Rigoberto Ceja, who also lives nearby, said, “It’s the only hospital that is nearby so the other one is like two or three miles away from here so it’s gonna be bad.”
In a statement, Anaheim Global Medical Center said it is “working with Orange County EMS to restore its Emergency Receiving Center status as expeditiously as possible. In the meantime, the hospital remains safe, open, and operational.”
The hospital emphasized that the suspension affects only 911 ambulance transports and noted it recently received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit.
There are three other hospitals in Anaheim. Anaheim Regional Medical Center and UCI Medical Center in Orange are both about three miles from Anaheim Global Medical Center.
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