Where South Central Goes to Die

Folks in South Central LA will have to find someplace else to die now that the slaughterhouse known as Martin Luther King-Harbor Hospital is being shut down:

Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital shut down its emergency room Friday night and will close entirely within two weeks, a startlingly swift reaction to a federal decision to revoke $200 million in annual funding because of ongoing lapses in care.

The extraordinary developments mark an end to nearly four years of failed attempts to reform the historic institution, treasured by many African Americans as a symbol of hope and progress after the 1965 Watts riots.

Los Angeles County health services director Dr. Bruce Chernof announced the closure plan Friday afternoon, hours after the hospital learned that it had failed its final test, a top-to-bottom review by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The hospital, formerly known as King/Drew, has shown itself unable to meet minimum standards for patient care since January 2004, according to the regulators.

As Captain Ed points out, the LA Times in a rare showing of outstanding journalism published a devasting report on the many deficiencies and outright fraud going on at the hospital, and although the local politicians have done everything in their power to keep it open (including allegations of racism in the decision to close it), sanity has prevailed and the mess that is MLK-Harbor is being closed. Check out Captain Ed's post for some of the details that came out in the 2004 report. It's amazing that anyone walked out of there alive.