Posted on 08/24/2008 4:14:21 AM PDT by kellynla
Financially troubled Century City Doctors Hospital gave up hope of finding a buyer and began shutting down Friday, according to hospital executives. Officially, the facility said it would cease operations late next week.
The hospital's emergency room -- a key element of the county's increasingly fragile emergency safety net -- will be closed today, and about 30 remaining patients will be discharged or transferred to nearby facilities beginning this weekend.
Regionally, 14 emergency rooms have been closed in the last five years, including 10 in Los Angeles County. After the closure, there will be 74 ERs remaining in the county.
On Friday, the hospital filed for financial liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Employees said they didn't get paid this week; other employees said payroll checks they received had bounced.
Hospital executives said they were petitioning the federal Bankruptcy Court to use emergency funds to pay employees as early as next week but acknowledged that they might not be able to do so.
"I haven't been paid in two weeks and I'm afraid I'm just not going to get paid," Tamara Tobin, a nursing assistant, said as she arrived at the hospital Friday.
The 176-bed facility, on Century Park East in the Century City Medical Plaza, has tried for months to improve its finances but has struggled to pay its growing debt, which the hospital estimated in a recent interview with The Times at more $60 million.
"It's really unfortunate" the hospital is closing, said Pat Wolfram, its interim chief executive. "Even this morning, we were trying to get a buyer and remain open but it just didn't happen. This is a great hospital and it's very sad."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
That's "liberal-speak" for illegal aliens. Are you paying attention, John McCain?
ping
"Others have closed in areas with large numbers of underinsured and uninsured patients, leaving access to hospital care in short supply in those areas."
That's "liberal-speak" for illegal aliens. Are you paying attention, John McCain?
I'm done with the Republicans over illegal immigration...
“I’m done with the Republicans over illegal immigration?”
Well good luck with the Democrats. LOL
As far as immigration goes there will be no significant difference.
I’m voting for Bullwinkle...
[Im voting for Bullwinkle...]
You’d better not. Boris Badunoff is his VP choice.
We are losing 2-3 MDs a month here in the Reno area. A couple have went to work for the VA, a couple permanent staff at a hospital and others have just left medicine altogether disgusted with the whole thing. I also heard Friday that 2 medical groups in Carson City just shut down. MDs cannot afford to keep the doors open here with costs going up in all areas. Many stopped taking Medicare and Medicaid in the last year because they were only paying 10-15% of patient costs and when the patient has no supplemental insurance, the MDs were eating the rest. Between this and Medical Malpractice Insurance....it should get real interesting for people.
Aaron Spelling’s widow is buying a 47 million dollar condo in Century City in a new building called ‘The Century.’ I’m suggesting that people like Mrs. Spelling should have saved this hospital.
http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20080821/znyt02/808210310&tc=yahoo
Until that happens they will continue to lose hospitals. It's not going to change until the legal citizen can no longer go to the ER, because there isn't one anymore. That's going to be the wake up call.
our law makers and judges are responsible for all this.
And voters
“He and the GOP elite are fully aware of the fallout from failing to strictly enforce our immigration laws but would prefer to sacrifice safety and national security, like their socialist brethren in the Democrat party, in order to expand the voting base.”
i guess because they want to help out the democrats because most of those people do NOT vote republican.
“The citizens of Los Angeles have to reach the conclusion that they need to stop allowing illegals to choke up their ER’s and not have to pay the bill.”
You are apparently unaware that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act requires all hospitals that receive funds from Medicare and Medicaid to provide emergency health care to everyone who needs it, regardless of their ability to pay.
Try doing a little research before you start telling the “citizens of Los Angeles” what to do.
gezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
You think the Democrats are building the new border fences????
Stinks another hospital is closing. and yes in those areas close to the US border it is mainly due to illegal aliens who cant/refuse to pay
If you are voting GOP or DNC this election...you are voting for illegal aliens...pretty much a vote for McCain is a wasted vote on America.
If you are not voting third-party or independent this election....you will definitely be voting for a liberal
Thank you!
I get tired of educating these “know-it-all, out-of-towners” who come on CA threads and try to tell us what to do. LOL
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