Ward Where 3 Died Reopens

Los Angeles County health officials have reopened a ward at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center where three patients died under questionable circumstances last year.

The 22-bed unit, known as 4B, houses patients who must be hooked up to cardiac monitors but do not need intensive care.

As of Friday, 10 of the beds were back in operation, officials said.

King/Drew closed 4B in late December after state health inspectors questioned the actions of its nursing staff.

County health officials also acknowledged at the time that some staff members did not have the training to safely manage patient care.

Concerns about the monitoring ward first arose last summer when two women died.

In one of those cases, inspectors from the California Department of Health Services found that a patient’s heart had slowed and stopped over a 45-minute period before nurses responded.

She died soon afterward, despite resuscitation attempts.

A physician discovered that the other woman had stopped breathing. She was revived but died four days later.

Inspectors determined that nurses had failed to examine both patients adequately and that some apparently had never been taught to use new bedside monitors.

A third patient died in December after doctors and nurses again failed to intervene appropriately.

Since the unit’s closure, the hospital has carefully screened nurses to ensure that they have the proper qualifications to work on 4B, county health department spokesman John Wallace said Friday. The hospital has also brought in nurses from outside agencies.

All employees working in the unit were given additional training, and the monitoring equipment was tested and found to be working properly, Wallace said.