County-USC Medical Center Doctors Attribute Fatalities to Treatment Delays

CAL/AAEM News Service pottsbri@yahoo.com
Wed, 30 Apr 2003 21:42:42 -0700 (PDT)


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-----Original Message-----

From: California Healthline [mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM] 

County-USC Medical Center Doctors Attribute Fatalities to Treatment Delays 

04/23/2003 

In sworn statements filed in federal court over the past month, County-USC Medical Center doctors said that delays in medical care because of overcrowding at the hospital have been fatal for some patients who might have survived otherwise, the <http://www.latimes.com/la-me-usc23apr23,1,1757325.story> Los Angeles Times reports (Weber/Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, 4/23). 



The sworn statements are part of a lawsuit filed in March by Neighborhood Legal Services, the <http://www.lafla.org/> Legal Aid Foundation and the <http://www.aclu.org/> American Civil Liberties Union against Los Angeles County to stop the scheduled closure of <http://www.rancho.org/> Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center and the elimination of 100 beds at County-USC Hospital. The county Board of Supervisors in January voted to close Rancho Los Amigos and to reduce the number of beds at County-USC Medical Center to help cover a budget deficit in the county health care system ( http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=48179&collectionid=3&program=1 California Healthline, 3/13). 



A report by Dr. Brent Asplin, an emergency room researcher, also was filed with the court; the report warned that more people would die unnecessarily if the hospital were to close 100 of its 745 beds. The court documents "quantify the problem [of overcrowding and treatment delays] and indicate that it is getting worse," according to the Times. Hospital officials did not dispute Asplin's report but said the hospital does not have enough money to keep the beds open. John Wallace, a spokesperson for the <http://www.dhs.co.la.ca.us/> Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, said the county needs additional state or federal funds if it is to care for 600,000 uninsured patients every year. "If anything, we would like to be adding more health services. It's a matter of not being able to afford to do it," Wallace said. A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for May 12 (Los Angeles Times, 4/23). 


Brian Potts 
Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service 
MS-IV, UC-Irvine

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<DIV><FONT size=2>
<P></P>
<P>-----Original Message-----</P>
<P>From: California Healthline [</FONT><A href="mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>] </P>
<P>County-USC Medical Center Doctors Attribute Fatalities to Treatment Delays </P>
<P>04/23/2003 </P>
<P>In sworn statements filed in federal court over the past month, County-USC Medical Center doctors said that delays in medical care because of overcrowding at the hospital have been fatal for some patients who might have survived otherwise, the &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.latimes.com/la-me-usc23apr23,1,1757325.story"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.latimes.com/la-me-usc23apr23,1,1757325.story</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Los Angeles Times reports (Weber/Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, 4/23). </P>
<P></P>
<P>The sworn statements are part of a lawsuit filed in March by Neighborhood Legal Services, the &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.lafla.org/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.lafla.org/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Legal Aid Foundation and the &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.aclu.org/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.aclu.org/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; American Civil Liberties Union against Los Angeles County to stop the scheduled closure of &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.rancho.org/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.rancho.org/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center and the elimination of 100 beds at County-USC Hospital. The county Board of Supervisors in January voted to close Rancho Los Amigos and to reduce the number of beds at County-USC Medical Center to help cover a budget deficit in the county health care system ( </FONT><A href="http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?conten!
 tid=4"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><A href="http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=48179&amp;collectionid=3&amp;program=1">http://www.californiahealthline.org/members/basecontent.asp?contentid=4</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>8179&amp;collectionid=3&amp;program=1</A> California Healthline, 3/13). </P>
<P></P>
<P>A report by Dr. Brent Asplin, an emergency room researcher, also was filed with the court; the report warned that more people would die unnecessarily if the hospital were to close 100 of its 745 beds. The court documents "quantify the problem [of overcrowding and treatment delays] and indicate that it is getting worse," according to the Times. Hospital officials did not dispute Asplin's report but said the hospital does not have enough money to keep the beds open. John Wallace, a spokesperson for the &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.dhs.co.la.ca.us/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.dhs.co.la.ca.us/</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, said the county needs additional state or federal funds if it is to care for 600,000 uninsured patients every year. "If anything, we would like to be adding more health services. It's a matter of not being able to afford to do it," Wallace said. A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for May!
  12 (Los Angeles Times, 4/23). </P></FONT></DIV><BR><BR><STRONG>Brian Potts <BR>Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service</STRONG> <BR>MS-IV, UC-Irvine<p><hr SIZE=1>
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