The Closing of King/Drew Trauma Center

December 3, 2004

CALIFORNIA

Judge Denies Bid to Halt Trauma Unit's Closure

A federal judge on Thursday allowed Los Angeles County to continue with its plan to phase out the trauma center at Martin Luther King, Jr./Drew Medical Center by denying a temporary restraining order sought by a group of doctors and residents.

November 25, 2004

Ailing Hospital's Progress Is Lesson for King/Drew

WASHINGTON — Greater Southeast Community Hospital in Washington D.C. had been stripped of its national accreditation, dropped by medical insurance companies and was being investigated for six "preventable" patient deaths between 2002 and 2003.

November 24, 2004

THE STATE

King/Drew's Trauma Unit Ordered Shut

Despite impassioned protests, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to close the trauma center at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, saying the unit had to be sacrificed as part of a larger strategy to save the troubled hospital.

November 22, 2004

Closure of King/Drew Unit Likely

Despite community protests, an on-air assault by a popular radio host and the near-unanimous opposition of city political leaders, most of the county supervisors said they remain committed to vote, probably Tuesday, in favor of closing the trauma center at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.

November 17, 2004

Waters at Center Stage in King/Drew Drama

A day after she helped marshal more than 1,000 people to protest the proposed closure of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center's trauma unit, Rep. Maxine Waters on Tuesday sat at the center aisle, second row, of the county Board of Supervisors meeting room, planning her next move.

November 16, 2004

CALIFORNIA

Reaction to King/Drew Plan Loud and Clear

In an outpouring that was by turns hostile and heartsick, the community that relies on Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center turned out in force Monday to strenuously oppose plans to close the hospital's prized trauma unit.

October 14, 2004

County May Hand Control of King/Drew to Private Firm

In response to a series of medical lapses and patient deaths, Los Angeles County officials put forth a plan Wednesday to hand over day-to-day management of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center to a private consulting firm.

October 12, 2005

Tempers Flare Over King/Drew Advisors

Just months after forming an advisory board to help save the troubled Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, Los Angeles County supervisors Tuesday asked for the board's bylaws to be reworked and even raised the possibility of disbanding it.

September 25, 2004

King/Drew Trauma Unit a 'Jewel' With Big Flaws

Politicians and others fighting to save the endangered trauma center at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center have called it "a model for the country" and "the crown jewel" of the hospital.

September 24, 2006

Hospital Backers Concede Choices Tough

A day after Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center resoundingly failed a "make or break" federal inspection, some of the iconic public hospital's most vocal supporters conceded that it may not be fixable — at least not by the county.

September 16, 2004

A Reeling King/Drew Receives Huge Blow

A national accrediting group Wednesday recommended pulling its seal of approval from beleaguered Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, an extremely rare step that further threatens the public hospital's survival.

September 14, 2004

King/Drew Trauma Unit Faces Closure

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Monday unexpectedly moved to shut down the trauma unit at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, immediately drawing the ire of physicians, politicians and community activists.

March 17, 2004

Repeated Drug Errors Cited at King/Drew

Employees at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center repeatedly withheld medications from patients and administered the wrong drugs or dosages, in some cases even as government health inspectors looked on, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

January 30, 2004

Report Assails Hospital Lapses

Nurses at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center were ordered to lie about patients' conditions, failed to give crucial medications prescribed by doctors and left seriously ill patients unattended for hours -- including three who died -- according to a new report by federal health officials.