Ousted Hospital Chief Praised by Supervisors

William Delgardo, ousted last month as chief of the Martin Luther King Jr.-Drew Medical Center, was praised by members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday for his years of service at the embattled hospital.

Delgardo, who has been reassigned to a county health department administrative job, praised the staff at King and thanked community members and Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who arranged the ceremony, for their support. He was lauded in a commemorative resolution presented by Hahn and supervisors Ed Edelman and Deane Dana.

Delgardo later defended the 430-bed hospital that he called “my home,” and said state inspectors and reports unfairly singled out King over problems attributed to a shortage of staff and funding--both things he said were beyond his control.

In the wake of the controversy that cost him his post, Delgardo said he hoped that King would finally receive the resources he said he had been seeking in vain.

“I don’t feel I need vindication,” he said, adding that he would be willing to return to the hospital. “Certainly. That’s my home. I was there 14 years, but (returning) is not to be.”

Delgardo and two top assistants were replaced Sept. 26. The moves came shortly after the federal government threatened to cut off $60 million in Medicare and Medi-Cal funds to the hospital if problems there were not corrected by Dec. 21.