Local Hospital Forced To Shut Down (Duarte, CA)

NBC 4 Los Angeles ^ | 9 Jan 04

[thesharkboy]

DUARTE, Calif. -- Employees at the Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte say they were given no warning that the facility is being forced to shut down.

The news was very emotional for the patients and the employees at the hospital. The hospital on Buena Vista Avenue has served serving its patients for 73 years -- but now it is being forced to shut down.

Hospital administrators are saying simply that they have no other choice -- they can't afford to stay in business. More than 100 employees will lose their jobs.

The hospital administrators say changing health care has forced the financial crisis. The state requires a higher nurse to patient ratio which created a financial strain.

Also, operators say Santa Teresita has no financial reserves or ability to borrow money.

The news came suddenly for employees.

"They showed me the newspaper with Santa Teresita on the front that said we were closing. That was it," said employee Teresa Dampf.

"We've all loved each other, taken great pride in our work, and it breaks my heart to see this ," another employee told NBC4.

Hospitals with emergency rooms must provide 90 days notice, according to the county. It is unclear if the emergency room will be forced to be kept open.

[thesharkboy]

Hospital shutdowns have been very common lately here in Southern California. Expect the same in your neighborhood if anything approaching the proposed immigration bill passes.

[doug from upland]

Thank you, Mexico.

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[ClintonBeGone]

Hospital shutdowns have been very common lately here in Southern California. Expect the same in your neighborhood if anything approaching the proposed immigration bill passes.

Interesting how they didn't even mention the immigrants in this article.

[thesharkboy]

Interesting how they didn't even mention the immigrants in this article.

They don't need to mention the illegals. Have you been to a hospital in Southern California lately?

[ErnBatavia]

Too bad - we used to live on Royal Oaks Drive at the Monrovia/Duarte border - would regularly stroll the block to that hospital to eat in the great cafeteria....best institutional grub we've ever had.

[cincinnati65]

Obviously, universal healthcare is the answer.

[William Tell]

From the article: "The state requires a higher nurse to patient ratio which created a financial strain. "

Not to worry. Whatever hospitals remain will be forced to hire the nurses fired from this one. What a wonderful state is Kalifornia. I can't wait for the next episode.

It's a little less clear how the patients at this closing hospital will find a place. Perhaps half of them will be forced to qualify as nurses. Yeah...that should do it.

[thesharkboy]

Obviously, universal healthcare is the answer.

That will be Bush's next proposal. I just wonder which political convention he'll attend this year. Maybe he'll just go to both.

[Traction]

It not immigration. It's a Davis give away to the nurses union. The new law mandates a nurse to patient ratio of 1 to 4 when the average was 1 to 7. Not enough nurses out there. We've spent two days trying to get my elderly mother-in-law into hospital (spent 5pm to 2am in morning in ER just to be told that she would have to be shipped to a hospital 20 miles further away from her local which is refusing all ambulance calls. We took her home and tried the walk in service with her doctor ordering it at her local hospital. It only took 8 hours wait at the hospital to get a room on the second go. I'm surprise the news services aren't screaming about it (but I forgot they were the ones supporting the nurses union).

[gracie1]

They've become common for small rural hospitals in central California as well. The majority of the patients are Medi-cal/Medicare or have no insurance at all.

[thesharkboy]

Maybe we can just import nurses from Mexico. After all, it's a job that Americans refuse to do. I'd like to know which jobs Bush thinks we're willing to do. I know--we can all be CEOs.

[gracie1]

Don't be fooled, immigration plays a big role. The hospitals cannot turn down anyone who show up at the ER regardless of legal status or ability to pay. A large portion of the financial cost the hospital is forced to eat if these people cannot get funding thru Medi-cal or MISP.

[Paul C. Jesup]

Obviously, universal healthcare is the answer.

Universal healthcare is healthcare for everyone but the taxpayers who pay for it.

[VOA]

Interesting how they didn't even mention the immigrants in this article.

Mentioning that would be be the fastest way for NBC 4 in Los Angeles to be burned
down to the foundations.
And the city attorney (Rocky Delgadillo) would probably charge the NBC 4 management
with inciting a riot for good measure.

And the only people arrested in such an incident would be any American citizen foolish
enough to try to protect the property.

[VOA]

Maybe we can just import nurses from Mexico.

Looks like the Philippinas have that sector already (to a large degree).
Besides, a fair number have the "triple threat"...being tri-lingual in Spanish,
English and Tagalog.

[getgoing]

Local radio caller just said he's contracting w/local hospitals to import nurses under the new rules. Wake up TEXAS.

[cherry]

hey, I hope you get to have your nurse with the 6 other patients, each one crying out for drugs,IV's, food, dressing changes, Bathroom trips, and then , just to talk...

yep, I wish that ratio on you and yours...

[FITZ]

Local radio caller just said he's contracting w/local hospitals to import nurses under the new rules. Wake up TEXAS.

That's going to get fun --- you will definitely not want to be a patient where your nurse cannot understand what the doctor has said or written regarding your orders, cannot be understood, and is so submissive that she will never question anything. No wonder they've put caps on medical malpractice lawsuits in Texas --- maybe they saw this coming.

[FITZ]

The new law mandates a nurse to patient ratio of 1 to 4 when the average was 1 to 7.

I'm not sure what the ratio should be --- but one thing because of shortened hospital stays --- much more outpatient surgeries and 24 hour observation stays, surgeries such as open-heart used to have 2 week stays and now are down to 5 or 6 days --- patients are much more acute and require much more work from the nurses.

In the past half or more of the patients were just laying around requiring almost no checks at all but today almost all patients require quite a bit of observation or they are discharged.