Hospital Keeps Special Care Unit for Infants Open
Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital has not closed its neonatal intensive care unit as it had planned, because an expected decrease in patients did not occur after the hospital lost the right to treat Medi-Cal patients in January.
A hospital spokesman said that except for a drop in February, the number of infants in the unit remained stable and there was no significant reduction in income.
In January, the hospital said that because about 39% of the unit’s patients were Medi-Cal recipients, it might not be able to sustain the loss. The hospital said it was launching an aggressive marketing campaign to attract private-pay patients and prepaid health care plans.
According to the spokesman, Freeman now has four new private practice doctors using the unit, which treats infants with life-threatening problems.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
