SOUTHERN CALIFORMA NEWS GROUP To the Judges: In July 2022, Southern Califomia News Group Investigative Reporter Scott Schwebke obtained confidential California Department of Public Health inspection records following the deaths of two patients at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, The reports detailed that the hospital had barely escaped losing its Medicare funding after inspectors uncovered a pair of dangerous incidents that put patients in immediate jeopardy of serious injury or possible death Immediate jeopardy is the most serious deficiency a medical facility can face and carries the most severe sanctions, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. ‘Through inspection records and interviews with healthcare experts and a patient's family member, Schwebke uncovered troubling deficiencies at Long Beach Memorial. The first immediate jeopardy incident occurred in February 2022 when an 88-year-old woman hospitalized for chest pain was mistakingly given two doses of anastrozole, a chemotherapy ‘drug used to treat breast cancer, a condition her family says she didn’t have, The woman died less than a month after she was admitted to Long Beach Memorial. The attending physician admitted he failed to review the woman's medication records, resulting in her receiving the breast cancer drug that carried potentially life-threatening side effects. ‘Additionally, the woman was subjected by Long Beach Memorial staff to physical therapy despite having heart problems and a doctor's previous order to remain on bed rest.‘The hospital's second immediate jeopardy situation took place in March 2022 when an elderly patient with dementia and a history of falls attempted to walk unassisted in his room and tripped over a device used to prevent blood clots. The patient sustained a fractured hip and was found on the floor by a nurse. He died a week later. An alarm designed to prevent such falls by alerting staff when a patient leaves a bed had not been tumed on. ‘Two weeks after Schwebke's story was published the hospital's chief executive officer and the chief operating officer both abruptly resigned. The hospital was also fined by the state,