Health Care In Los Angeles, CA

Before it was recently closed, Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital functioned as a public hospital in Los Angeles that was operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. For a while, there had been widely discussed problems related to endemic incompetence and mismanagement, causing the available number of hospital beds to be decreased to only 42. In the last three years, over 200 hospital employees had either been fired or resigned for various reasons.

In 2000, prior to its crisis and closing, the hospital possessed 537 beds and was associated with Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Located near high crime areas, the hospital had a very involved trauma unit. In 2003, it treated over 2,000 gunshots and other such life-threatening injuries.

Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital's founding had its roots in the 1965 Watts Riots when it was ascertained that poor access to adequate healthcare was one of the contributing factors to the unrest. Tellingly, the closest public trauma center was more than ten miles away.

One year later, in 1966, a medical task force was formed to look into the matter. Actual construction began in April 1968. It opened in 1972 as a full-service medical center and was a source of pride and jobs in the community.

Despite this excellent start, after 2000 an array of problems hit the hospital. It earned the dubious nickname of 'Killer King' and was the object of a number of special investigations by local newspapers.

On August 10, after failing a comprehensive review by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 200 million dollars in federal funding was canceled. The emergency room was closed later that day and the rest of the hospital by August 27. Employees were reassigned to jobs at other county facilities.

At a later Los Angeles County board meeting, a 124-page report by federal inspectors was released that detailed dozens of errors and failures by hospital staff during the fateful review.

Article Source: http://articlekarma.com

Matt Paolini is a hospice writer for CityBook.com, the family-safe Los Angeles Yellow Pages, which carries an extensive directory on Los Angeles death and dying.

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive History Articles Via RSS!

Additional Articles From - Home | History

Hoodia Gordonii Cactus - By : Ibrahim Machiwala
Morbidity and Mortality Meeting - By : Ibrahim Machiwala
Los Angeles Building And Construction Boomed In The Early 1900s - By : Matthew Paolini
History of US Consulate in Chiang Mai - By : lar
Los Angeles Water Wars Affect Local Agriculture And Forestry - By : Matthew Paolini
Food And Drink In Los Angeles, CA - By : Matthew Paolini
History of Melayu - By : Robert Thomson
Los Angeles, CA - Building And Construction - By : Matthew Paolini
What is Absinthe? - By : Robert Thomson
The True Story of The American Independence - By : Slavco Stefanoski

	Print This Article
	Post Comment
	Add To Favorites
	Email to Friends
	Ezine Ready

Submit Articles
Member Login
Top Authors
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Sitemap

Bankruptcy Attorney Encino

Home
New Stuff
About Us
Site Blog
Forum
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service