Hospital’s No-Show Nurses Close ER

Los Angeles County health officials closed the doors of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center to ambulances for more than 60 hours this weekend, in part because of critical staffing shortages.

Officials made the move Friday night, declaring an “internal disaster,” after large numbers of emergency room nurses called in sick or simply didn’t show up for their weekend shifts, said John Wallace, spokesman for the county Department of Health Services.

Officials also were concerned about providing orthopedic care to emergency patients.

The county-owned hospital’s outpatient orthopedic surgery clinic was unable to open for at least three hours Friday when no surgeons, surgeon trainees or physician assistants reported for work there, Wallace said.

“It’s being investigated and there will be disciplinary actions taken,” he said.

Adding to county officials’ concerns, inspectors turned up unexpectedly at King/Drew on Friday for a two-day review. They were focusing in part on problems in the hospital’s psychiatric department, Wallace said. The team was from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, whose seal of approval is considered crucial by most hospitals in the United States.

Diverting the ambulances was “an effort to decompress the hospital,” particularly as inspectors were reviewing patient care, Wallace said.

This weekend’s troubles at the 233-bed Willowbrook hospital came as it struggles to address the criticisms of state and federal health inspectors, as well as the Joint Commission.

Earlier this month, a separate group of inspectors from the Joint Commission accused King/Drew and its affiliated medical school of intimidating medical residents in orthopedic surgery so they would not raise concerns about the hospital.

County officials said the hospital would begin phasing out the training program next year.