San Jose Inside: Santa Clara County Health Officials Take Steps to End Hospitals’ Illegal Disposal of Wastes
Santa Clara County supervisors – and the public – today got their first public explanation from county officials on the explosive revelations a week ago that county-run hospitals had for at least a year illegally dumped medical waste, drugs and patient data into dumpsters.
Healthcare officials and the Board of Supervisors first learned of the revelations in September, but took no action for two months, San Jose Inside learned this week.
Healthcare Services CEO Paul Lorenz told the supervisors’ Health and Hospitals Committee and his boss, County Executive James Williams, that they had been taken by surprise that dumpster-diving investigators with the county District Attorney’s Office had found “tens of thousands” of examples of illegal waste disposal at county hospitals – and by a pledge from District Attorney Jeff Rosen that he will go to court to seek civil penalties against the county for violations of state health laws.