Dec 12 2007
Another Inglewood Hospital Threatened
GUEST: Michael Steinberg, Radiation Oncologist at Daniel Freeman Hospital
After the high-profile closure of King-Harbor Hospital (formerly known as King-Drew) yet another hospital in South Los Angeles is being shut down. This time it’s Daniel Freeman hospital, part of the Centinela Freeman Health System. Freeman, which would be the third hospital to close in Inglewood in the past three years, was recently bought by Prime Healthcare Services Inc. Prime Healthcare is an Inland Empire-based hospital chain operated by a cardiologist named Dr. Prem Reddy and is one of the fastest growing hospital chains in Southern California. However, Prime Healthcare’s business model has come under increasing scrutiny by state officials, health care advocates and patients. This model includes a cancellation of all private health insurance contracts so that the hospitals can collect steeper reimbursements from insurers. It also includes closing down crucial patient services such as mental health care, chemotherapy and radiation, in favor of more lucrative services such as surgery and cardiology. In the case of Daniel Freeman, the entire hospital faces closure with all units except Radiation Oncology and Physical Therapy having been shut down. A project that helps vulnerable patients navigate their way through the health system is also being threatened. After the closure of King-Harbor Hospital, which was a severe blow for low-income South LA residents, the end of Daniel Freeman’s operations could mean an even greater struggle for decent health care.
NOTE: As of this morning, workers at the two remaining departments at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital have received termination notices.
4 Responses to “Another Inglewood Hospital Threatened”
My company MAY be able to provide outplacement services for various Allied and RN Healthcare Professionals at no charge to them.
If you know of anyone at Daniel Freeman that might be interested, please have them contact me at :
Kbrandon@cctc.com
Regards,
Kathy Brandon
Allied Recruiter
CCTC
KPFK seems to be the only media venue in L.A. that knows or cares at all about the closure of Daniel Freeman Hospital. It is now closed as I found out last week when, late on a Sunday night I needed an ER for my son. I was amazed that the hospital was closed, and I knew nothing about it. I am a sociologist concerned with emergency medical, trauma, and burn care, and I usually know what hospitals are closing.
The closure of 358 bed Freeman, and the unavailability of a similarly sized Centinella Hospital, due to Dr. Reddy’s infamous policies (refusing to accept standardized insurance coverage), presents an extremely dangerous situation for residents of, or visitors to, all of western and southern Los Angeles, and the beach cities. It should also be noted that, for many years, Freeman operated a nationally recognized stroke,trauma, and spinal cord rehab. program, one of very few in California. It, of course, is also gone.
The victims of medical emergencies, accidents on the 405, at LAX or other areas in the South Bay and western L.A. County are at much greater risk of having delayed care regardless of where they live.
Many ERs are routinely closed due to routine over crowding. Paramedics are diverted to distant hospitals, with critical patients sometimes being delayed as long as an hour in reaching definitive care.
Residents of the wealthiest areas of L.A. as well as residents of South Central are at risk. All one needs to be a victim of the closure is to be at LAX or on the 405 between Westchester and north Torrance, have a heart attack or an accident, and face no open ERs from Torrance to Santa Monica, not an impossible event. Instead of reaching an ER within 10 minutes, it could take 45 minutes or longer to get to an open ER.
The purchase of Freeman and Centinella by Dr. Reddy, with the complete closure of Freeman (it is now being used for film location shooting), should be of urgent concern to residents throughout Los Angeles. Freeman is the 5th hospital to close in the South Bay (South Bay in Redondo Beach, JFK in Hawthorne, and 2 hospitals in Gardena are the others) over the past few years, a loss of more than 700 beds along with five ERs, is an acute danger to all of us. Combine these losses with those of other areas, and we see a collapsed, dysfunctional trauma /emergency medical care system. Freeman once had a Level 1 (highest level) trauma center, and L.A. County had a nationally recognized trauma care system. No more.
The fact that Dr. Reddy is on a hospital buying spree, with his mercenary closing of critically needed facilities should also be of urgent concern.
[…] the first semester of my senior year (I worked at the pool year ’round). He was in a coma at Daniel Freeman Hospital, right across the street from my high school. After they amputated his leg, he died from a blod […]
My life began in this hospital in 1958. We lived in La Mirada at the time, having just moved from Torrance. Either way, Inglewood needs a convenient hospital for all the reasons Dr. Stouffer lists. I never even knew its history until now. Save the Freeman!