Surgeon Accused of Turning Away Patient

A former emergency surgeon at Panorama Community Hospital has been accused of turning away a critically ill patient because the patient could not afford treatment, The Times has learned.

It is the second time in recent months that medical personnel at the hospital have been accused of illegally “dumping” a patient.

Felix Talag, who was 67 at the time, went to the Panorama City hospital April 11, 1987, because he had been vomiting blood and felt dizzy, according to an “accusation” filed with the state attorney general’s office by the Medical Board of California.

Dr. Stephen C. Acosta briefly examined Talag and then told his relatives to drive him to Olive View Medical Center, a Los Angeles County facility 10 miles away that treats indigent patients for reduced fees, according to the complaint.

The complaint states that the patient was transferred because Acosta “was concerned” that the patient “could not pay for the required hospitalization.” The Times has received a copy of the complaint.

At Olive View, doctors found that Talag had no palpable pulse or blood pressure, the complaint says. Doctors managed to resuscitate him and he was placed in intensive care, the accusation states. Talag has since recovered, said Deputy State Atty. Gen. Gloria Barrios.

The matter came to light after a physician at Olive View complained to the state.

Acosta, of Redondo Beach, could lose his medical license if the charges are upheld at a hearing before a Medical Board panel in Los Angeles next Wednesday. He is accused of negligence, incompetence and unprofessional conduct.

Panorama Hospital spokeswoman Candyce Columbus declined to comment on the charges. Acosta could not be reached for comment.

Acosta and the hospital could also each be fined $50,000 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is conducting its own investigation into the hospital’s procedures, said Elliott Kramer, the department’s regional inspector general for investigations.

Acosta, who no longer works at Panorama Hospital, is not listed as a member of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn., and it could not be determined whether he is still practicing. The state medical board issued him a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate in October, 1977.

The incident has come to light less than six months after a registered nurse at Panorama Community Hospital was charged with denying care to a seriously ill girl, whom she allegedly sent to Olive View after the girl’s parents failed to prove they had insurance.

Deborah Carol Nachman, 37, of Sherman Oaks, is to stand trial April 30 on the misdemeanor charge of failing to treat Veronica Ayala, now 2, on Dec. 8, 1988.