County supervisors Tuesday voted to hire an
outside consultant to fix medical problems at troubled Martin Luther
King Jr./Drew Medical Center. The panel also rejected requests that it
delay a Nov. 15 hearing on whether to close the trauma center at the
inner-city hospital. Critics worry that sending critical patients to
other hospitals could fatally delay their treatment. Chicago-based
Navigant Consulting Inc. was given sweeping authority to review and
supervise medical activity at the hospital beginning Nov. 1, although
it won't look into finances or budgeting. The one-year contract, worth
up to $13.2 million, marks the first time Los Angeles County has
allowed a private outside group to take over day-to-day operations at
one of its hospitals. King/Drew is one of the few full-service county
hospitals in South Los Angeles, a largely poor black and Hispanic area
plagued by gang violence. Its trauma center handles a large volume of
gunshot wounds and is the second-busiest in the county. The hospital
came under scrutiny after federal inspectors found that five patients
died last year from negligence. King/Drew has been ordered to correct
its deficiencies quickly or face loss of accreditation and $200 million
in federal funds. [more ]
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