LA: Financial woes jeopardize area hospitals

More than 70 community hospitals have closed across the state since 1996. Of that, more than 50 were in Southern California. Regionally, 14 emergency rooms have closed in the last five years, including 10 in Los Angeles County.

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Nearly two dozen are at risk. Losing even a few would mean greater strain on the region's healthcare network.
By Daniel Costello and Susannah Rosenblatt

Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

September 23, 2007

Nearly two dozen private hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties, accounting for up to 15% of beds in the region, are in dire financial straits and in danger of bankruptcy or closure, according to hospital administrators, industry experts and state data.

The troublesome development follows the closure of community clinics and hospitals in recent years that has left the healthcare system seriously overburdened.

If even a few other hospitals close or reduce costly critical-care services, it could mean longer ambulance rides to hospitals, additional delays in emergency rooms and less access to care, especially for poor and uninsured people.

Among the hospitals in poor financial health, according to industry analysts, are Downey Regional Medical Center, Centinela Freeman Health System in Inglewood, Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, Century City Doctors Hospital and four Orange County hospitals owned by Santa Ana-based Integrated Healthcare Holdings Inc. including Chapman Medical Center in Orange and Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, one of three trauma centers in the county.

In interviews, senior executives at Centinela and Downey said they were considering closing their emergency rooms. Downey's chief operating officer, Rob Fuller, added that his hospital could close entirely as early as next year if its financial picture didn't improve soon.

"It's fasten your seat belt it's going to be a bumpy ride time," said James Lott, executive vice president of the Hospital Assn. of Southern California, a trade association.

The financial woes result from a multitude of developments:

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