Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Area Reporter - December 21, 2006
Heather Cassell, h.cassell@ebar.com
John Kanaley, executive administrator of Laguna Honda Hospital, told the Bay Area Reporter Tuesday, December 19 that visitation had been limited after nurses brought "legitimate reasons" to the attention of the on-site security, run by the San Francisco Sheriff's Department. Kanaley wouldn't state the reason for the restrictions or what the concerns were. The head of security at the hospital, Sergeant T. Overhall, denied knowing about any incident occurring in the ward.
Kanaley said that nursing staff contacted security last Friday. He said that one patient continues to have a limitation on visitors. The visiting restriction for other patients in the AIDS ward was lifted Tuesday, he said.
The B.A.R. was told by a source who requested anonymity that patients of the ward were given drug tests and that several patients tested positive for crack cocaine. Kanaley said he could not comment on those allegations.
According to the source, staff searched through the belongings of patients who tested positive for drugs in the presence of a sheriff's deputy and that one patient was found to have the illegal substance.
Jim Illig, of the San Francisco Health Commission, said, "The staff are doing the best they can," adding that illegal drugs have been a long-standing problem in the ward at Laguna Honda Hospital.
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