Trauma Center

Regarding the closing of the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center trauma unit:

In November of last year I was struck by a hit-and-run driver while attempting to help a disabled motorist on Los Feliz Boulevard. The injuries I received were near fatal, but due to the close proximity of the Hollywood Presbyterian trauma unit it was only a three-minute ambulance run.

If I had had to be transported to a different facility further distant I most certainly would not be here to write this letter. I owe my life to the excellent staff and state-of-the-art equipment found in the trauma unit.

I was dismayed to learn, given the large number of trauma cases treated at Presbyterian, that the hospital administration has decided to withdraw from the county trauma program. It’s unfortunate that the center was not able to make enough money to render this much-needed program profitable. Yet, how many residents of the inner city can afford to pay between $100,000, and $200,000 for trauma care or an insurance plan to cover it?

ROBERT CORSINI

Glendale