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Hospital makes Chapter 11 filing

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Times Staff Writer

Brotman Medical Center in Culver City has filed for Bankruptcy Court protection from creditors but is expected to stay open and maintain most critical services, including its emergency room, hospital administrators said Friday.

The 420-bed hospital is seeking reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. It is expected to trim less-vital money-losing units, including several outpatient services, although details of the reorganization plan weren’t included in court papers filed late Thursday.

“Brotman Medical Center will continue to serve physicians and their patients in Culver City, West Los Angeles and the surrounding community,” said hospital spokesman Charles Sipkins.

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“The hospital and all of its operating units remain open. All professional and technical staff will continue to work regular shifts and hours,” he said.

Brotman opened more than 75 years ago as an eight-bed clinic and has grown into one of the largest hospitals in the region. In recent years, however, it has struggled with rising costs and falling revenue.

Its losses soared from $268,000 in 2001 to nearly $15 million in 2005, when Tenet Healthcare Corp. sold it to local investors.

According to court records, the medical center has outstanding debts of $58 million. It owes $11.3 million to its 20 largest creditors, including $1.5 million to information technology provider Perot Systems Corp. and $253,000 to the Los Angeles law firm Theodora Oringher Miller & Richman.

Brotman became the center of a firestorm last month when state health inspectors released a report finding that doctors and nurses failed to provide proper care to a mentally disabled woman, Linda Sue Brown, who died at Brotman.

A lawsuit filed against the hospital by Brown’s family is pending.

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daniel.costello@latimes.com

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