Santee

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee has ordered a monthlong, $11,000 audit of Edgemoor Geriatric Hospital in Santee, where state-imposed fines resulting from recent patient deaths have called attention to subpar conditions and what most officials consider prohibitive costs for upgrading the county-run facility. Assemblyman Larry Stirling (R-San Diego) said the audit will attempt to examine in detail which legislative policy decisions have allowed “a festering sore like Edgemoor to continue.” Stirling, who visited the 323-bed facility last week, predicted auditors examining the contributions of state and county officials and hospital administrators to Edgemoor’s problems will find “there’s enough blame to go around.”