County lifts Ventura psychiatric hospital's suspension conditionally. Here's what it means

A Ventura psychiatric hospital would regain its authority to admit involuntary patients but with tight oversight under a proposed compliance agreement.

The board of supervisors on Tuesday authorized county mental health chief Loretta Denering to negotiate the agreement with Vista del Mar Hospital in a unanimous vote. Denering suspended involuntary admissions seven months ago but now supports reinstatement of the hospital's privileges "if and only so long" as officials at the 55-bed hospital enter into and comply with the agreement.

Afterward, Denering said the actual date for reopening admissions depends on whether Vista del Mar officials sign the agreement and an independent consultant retained by the hospital produces an acceptable action plan.

"The ball's in their court," she said of officials at the private hospital.

Denering suspended the hospital's authorization in October based on dozens of care issues. Included were a patient's suicide at the hospital, deaths of two patients within days of discharge, the release of a patient with another's medications and failure to report a patient's allegation of rape.

Vista was one of only two hospitals in Ventura County allowed to admit involuntary patients under the landmark Lanterman-Petris-Short or LPS Act. The state law establishes conditions under which patients may be treated against their will because they are in danger of harming themselves or others or are gravely disabled.

A draft of the proposed agreement calls for Vista del Mar, the affiliated Signature Healthcare Services and owner Dr. Soon Kim to do the following:

• Retain an expert independent consultant to analyze the hospital’s operations compared to industry standards for involuntary patients and recommend improvements. The consultant must develop an action plan and update Denering monthly on progress for 12 months.

• Monitor documentation in medical records for each involuntary patient within three business days of discharge. Vista must show how doctors and staff monitored patient progress, for example, and track planning for treatment and discharge.

• Limit the number of involuntary patients in the hospital to two at the same time although this may be expanded later. County spokeswoman Ashley Humes said a Vista leader made the suggestion to start with a low number of involuntary patients. The hospital has remained licensed and continued to treat voluntary patients, but staff do not have recent experience with involuntary patients who may require seclusion, restraint and forced medication, she said.

• Screen the records of all involuntary patients within three business days of discharge for “adverse events," such as self-harm, assaults, falls and sexual contact. All adverse events associated with patient harm must be reported to Denering within one business day of their discovery.

• Retain the services of a nationwide, recognized hotline service to report patient safety and rights issues.

Denering said she imposed the suspension in October because she had no reasonable belief that involuntary patients, their rights and well-being were safe at the hospital.

In her decision to lift the suspension, she said a number of deficiencies remained but also said the hospital had made significant improvements in some areas of its operations and pointed to the need for inpatient care in the county.

Vista del Mar offers 55 licensed beds for adults and adolescents, while Hillmont Psychiatric Center at Ventura County Medical Center operates 43 beds for adults in a county of more than 800,000.

Reed Colton, CEO of Vista del Mar, told the board of supervisors he appreciated the cooperation from the county's behavioral health department and that Vista staff had worked tirelessly and continuously to make improvements since he arrived in October 2022. Reed said he had reviewed the draft agreement with Denering, county Health Care Agency chief Barry Zimmerman and county Executive Officer Sevet Johnson and hoped to strengthen cooperative efforts.

"It's been a long seven months," he said.

He declined to comment on the requirements in the compliance document after the vote but said hospital officials are optimistic they can reach agreement with county officials.

Kathleen Wilson covers courts and local government issues for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-206-8805.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County lifts Vista del Mar's suspension conditionally