How To LA: Closure Of Centinela Hospital Maternity Ward (And Other Headlines)

In February 2023, my colleague Mariana Dale covered a Los Angeles family seeking justice after a Black mother died during childbirth at Centinela Hospital. Since then, state reports uncovered that the Inglewood hospital put patient lives at risk by failing to meet some federal health care standards. Now, the facility has announced the closure of its maternity ward, been investigated and fined by the state, and faces a lawsuit from the woman’s partner.

The closure of the Centinela Maternity

April Valentine died at Centinela Hospital in January 2023 from a blood clot. Valentine’s family and friends say that the hospital failed to treat one of the most common and preventable causes of death during pregnancy and have called for justice for Valentine or other families harmed by the Black maternal health crisis.

A Centinela Hospital spokesperson told LAist earlier this year in response to questions about Valentine’s death that “despite the highest standards of care, there are certain medically complex and emergent situations that cannot be overcome.”

In July, the California Department of Public Health fined Centinela Hospital Medical Center $75,000. Nigha Robertson, Valentine’s partner, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Centinela and Valentine’s health care providers in late August.

“It gives me more hope and it lets me know that my voice didn't go unheard,” Robertson said. “It lets me know that everybody who played a part in the Justice for April [movement], didn't go unheard.”

Read the full story here.

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Wait... one more thing

L.A. Coliseum’s NFL History

In last week’s newsletter, I talked about the start of the NFL season and the very useful How To LA episode with a primer on what’s going on with the Rams and the Chargers. This week, we’ll look at a connection between NFL and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with activism mixed in.

Since 1923, the L.A. Coliseum has hosted its share of historical events: two Olympics (make it three in 2028) and re-integration of the NFL in 1946, which included the Rams’ move from Cleveland to L.A.

But there was a roadblock: Here was an organization that hadn't had a Black player since the early 1930s that wanted to play in a public stadium located in South L.A., which at that time had become a predominantly Black community. So what happened next?

Host Brian De Los Santos talked to historian Frank Guidry of Columbia University about the Rams’ move to L.A. and so much more. Listen to the episode here.