LA County medical chief withdraws ward closures at King/Drew

AP State Wire ^ | Friday, October 7, 2005 | The Associated Press

[Amerigomag]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The county's chief medical officer Friday withdrew his recommendation to eliminate pediatric, obstetric and neonatology wards at the troubled Martin Luther King Jr.-Drew Medical Center. The hospital has been plagued by severe problems, including patient deaths blamed on poor nursing, lawsuits brought by patients who had medical objects left inside them, and hospital mismanagement that has threatened funding and accreditation.

At the August hearing, Dr. Thomas L. Garthwaite, director of the county's Department of Health Services, said his motivation for the cuts was to create a hospital that does "fewer things extremely well." He said only 2 percent of women in the region gave birth at King-Drew last year and other hospitals could handle the work if the pediatrics unit was closed.

State officials informed the county Friday that King-Drew must have non-emergency obstetrical services in order to be eligible for the funding. Garthwaite said King/Drew would lose more than $29 million in state funding this fiscal year if it ended its obstetrical services.

The public hospital and medical school were built after the 1965 Watts Riots and the hospital is the only such public facility in South Los Angeles

[Amerigomag]

Just another example of local government attempting to correct a local problem but being told no by the state. The great irony is that the funds the state is threatening to withold were taken from the local government tax revenues by unilateral state action.

[BigFinn]

Well, they don't call it "Killer King" for nothing.

[SmithL]

HillaryCare

[Intolerant in NJ]

The hospital has been plagued by severe problems, including patient deaths blamed on poor nursing,...saw a story on TV about this hospital some months ago - can't remember now where, but it sounded like a real disaster - supposely patients on the way there in ambulances tried to jump out and run away when they heard that was their destination - LOL.....