Jul 23, 2007 5:26 pm US/Pacific
Feds Inspect MLK-Harbor To Decide On Its Fate
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital
Inspectors from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services arrived at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital Monday to conduct an examination that will determine the future of the facility.
The 13-member inspection team arrived shortly before 11 a.m. and is expected to remain at the hospital for at least one week.
CMS inspectors will determine whether the Willowbrook hospital, formerly King-Drew Medical Center, meets 23 national standards. The federal agency will not renew the hospital's participation agreement if the facility fails the inspection. The current agreement is set to expire Aug. 15.
"This department will only operate a hospital that meets national standards and it is now up to staff to demonstrate compliance," Dr. Bruce Chernof, county health director said.
Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, who represents the Willowbrook area, said, "We are confident that hospital officials and staff have done their best to correct many of CMS' concerns in preparation for their survey. We wish the hospital the best of luck."
Los Angeles County officials have not billed the federal government for any non-emergency Medicare and Medi-Cal patients treated at MLK-Harbor since May 1. Prior to that, the hospital was receiving about $200 million a year in federal funding.
County supervisors have said they will stop funding MLK-Harbor's emergency room and in-patient services if the hospital fails the federal inspection.
Shuttering those departments would have a major impact on seven private hospitals, California Hospital Medical Center; Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center; Downey Regional Medical Center; Kaiser Permanente Bellflower; Memorial Hospital of Gardena; St. Francis Medical Center; and White Memorial Medical Center.
An urgent care center would remain at MLK-Harbor, and likely handle more than 180,000 annual visits should the emergency room close, according to county health officials.
CMS officials inspected the hospital last July. The 16-member team stayed for 10 days, and ultimately decided the hospital did not meet nine of the government's 23 conditions for federal funding.
That finding led the county Board of Supervisors to downsize the hospital and place it under the management of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center personnel.
Clinical specialties, including high-risk obstetrics, neonatology, pediatrics, neurosurgery, cardio-thoracic surgery, ophthalmology and dental, were moved to Harbor-UCLA. The revamped MLK-Harbor has operated with an emergency room and 48 beds for in-patient services.
MLK-Harbor has 1,635 full-time employees and, last year, provided care to 50,000 emergency room patients.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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