What will become of Martin Luther King Hospital in South-Central Los Angeles?

[Lionel Mandrake]

King-Harbor failed the final review by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The Emergency Room is now closed. Inpatient beds are being phased out and will be empty in about a week. That is part of the short-term plan.

The long-term plan is up for grabs. According to Chief Medical Officer Bruce A. Chernof, MD, the LA County Dept. of Health Services will "either identify qualified private operators to re-open and operate the hospital or to re-open the hospital under County management" .

In other words, there is no long-term plan yet. How long will the hospital remain mostly empty?

For lots of background information, check out my thread on LBN:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2953241

and please post something there if you think this is an important issue.

[MrCoffee]

1. long-term...keep letting poor people die on the floor.

[ThomCat]

2. Once they close for good, keep letting poor people die on the street.

This idea that healthcare needs to make a profit is sick. Any industry that must make a profit is, by definition, geared towards people with money. Poor people are excluded.
x(

[MrCoffee]

3. King-Harbor did that before the doors closed.

they really didn't care where you died, as long as you stopped bothering them.

[Shakespeare]

4. This was a county-run hospital, and the problems weren't about profit.

This was a tragic example of the community (and I mean that in the most immediate sense) becoming ambivalent to its own who were most in need. The same thing has been going on at King-Drew for several years, and I'm amazed it's not closed down, too.

(and I have a bit of insider knowledge on this because of what I do for a living--and that's about the limit of what I can say)

[Lionel Mandrake]

5. MLK, King-Harbor and King-Drew are different names for the same hospital.

It is no longer affiliated with the Drew medical school. It is affiliated with the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (hence the change of name).

Local politicians have argued for years about this place. They contribute more heat than light.

[Shakespeare]

7. You're correct (I was confusing it with LAC-USC, the other big county facility)

LAC-USC has had problems similiar to King-Drew, going back about 4 years.

The biggest problems lie with the attitude of the hospital's staff (most of whom come from the community)--I've seen some things that would leave you slack-jawed in amazement.

It desperately needs to be fixed, but nobody's been able to do so (and I'm not talking about the consultants, but the CMS/JCAHO legal experts who are usually very good about helping the facilities correct these problems). It's sad (and you're right about the politicians).

[Lionel Mandrake]

10. I'm already slack-jawed in amazement

after reading some of the horror stories in the LA Times. The incompetence of some employees and the neglect of patients have been fully documented. It's hard to understand how a hospital could be so deficient in so many different ways for so long.

[Lionel Mandrake]

12. Yes, the idea of a hospital as a profit center seems grotesque.

I hope King-Harbor is not taken over by a chain like Tenet Healthcare Corporation. It might or might not happen.

[KitchenWitch]

16. Let Kaiser take it over....

Kaiser has such a shining reputation as far as the unwashed, economically disadvantaged people go.

:sarcasm:

[Shakespeare]

17. Actually, with the exception of the recent (and bad) dumping issue, Kaiser's one of the good guys.

They saved my ex's life a couple of years ago to the tune of probably seven figures' worth of medical care (up to and including open-heart surgery). Our total copay was $50. We would've been ruined financially under any other health plan, and probably wouldn't have gotten the same level of care.

The quality of care we received from them was always top-notch, and it was far less of a hassle than a traditional med group setting. The doctors across the board are happier there because they don't have to deal with insurance companies or exhaustive paperwork. I will defend them to my last breath, and would give ANYTHING to have Kaiser again (I'm currently stuck with Blue Cross).

They're the only nonprofit HMO I'm aware of, and I'd love to see more follow their model.

[KitchenWitch]

18. You must have had a good plan with Kaiser

I have had nothing but headaches with them. And I get charged copays for both the doctor visit and the labs, so every time I see a doctor there, I am shelling out $35.

[Shakespeare]

19. Ours was kind of middle of the road.

I'd had Kaiser previously with a cheaper copay. The plan we were on when the medical nightmare began was a little less complete, but it certainly was a godsend. I also found that being a squeaky wheel (and I'm not suggesting that you aren't) kept our medical care pretty hassle-free. If we weren't getting seen soon enough or were having more hassles than I thought were reasonable, I was on the 800 number to their customer care department in a heartbeat, and they always responded (favorably) right away. Kaiser's kind of what you make of it, in some ways.

Hey, I'll trade ya--you can have my Blue Cross PPO, and I'll take your Kaiser! ;-) (I wish)

[KitchenWitch]

20. Yes, I have had to be a squeaky wheel a lot with them.

I do LOVE my PCP there. He is very responsive and does not talk down to me (very very important to me).

[Lionel Mandrake]

21. I used to belong to Kaiser

because it was the best insurance option offered where I working. When my job expired, Kaiser was supposed to offer me individual coverage but didn't do so until after the deadline for my acceptance had passed. Fortunately I had another job lined up and was able to get reasonable insurance (but not from Kaiser). I suspected then that maybe Kaiser didn't really want to take care of people without jobs.

[KitchenWitch]

22. I think you are onto something there.

I have a friend who is a physician there. She loves it, and I would guess it has a lot to do with the streamlining of adminstrative duties.

[Lionel Mandrake]

23. You are probably correct.

Not all doctors want to be entrepreneurs. Some just want to treat patients and let others worry about administration and management.

[KitchenWitch]

6. I have been watching this story with interest.

I don't understand how a hospital, after several failed audits, can continue to operate in the same manner that helped them fail the audits in the first place.

Is this the institutional version of, "if I ignore it, it will go away"?

[Lionel Mandrake]

8. I agree; it is something of a mystery

how the problems could fester so long with no effective action taken. Thanks for asking the question. I don't have an answer.

[KitchenWitch]

9. I know.

I think those in charge that ignored the problems should be prosecuted in the criminal court system. And if they are licensed professionals they should have their licenses yanked forever.

[Lionel Mandrake]

11. That would be one way,

but not the only way, to ensure that the worst employees are fired (if they haven't already been) and not re-hired to do the same thing all over again.

It is very difficult to prove criminal negligence. It is also difficult to get licenses revoked forever. Firing people for incompetence is somewhat less difficult, but difficult enough in an environment where people's motives are sure to be questioned. It is easier to simply not rehire the worst of those whose jobs have temporarily disappeared. If this analysis is correct, then the recent closure of the ER and inpatient services may be cause for optimism.

[Fire Walk With Me]

13. Look for Bush friendlies to create an "option" to fill this vacancy.

This could either be another result of the current admininstrations racism ala' New Orleans, or an opportunity for pharms and others, a backhanded method to privatize social services.

I don't like trying to think as they do, but whatever the reason, there is ugliness behind it.

I'll bet that there is plenty of money to support medical care for the very rich, you know.

[Zomby Woof]

14. Start by firing Yvonne Braithwaite Burke

Raze the old hospital, move her Brentwood mansion where it used to be, and hire a new staff from to bottom.

Then start some serious redistribution of healthcare wealth from West L.A. to South-Central.

[Lionel Mandrake]

15. She 's gotten some bad press lately (chuckle).

There seems to be some question about where she really lives.

http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/070727_prince/