King-Drew Medical Center Plan to Phase Out Its Trauma Unit Status

LA County Supervisors said today that they have a plan to close down the trauma unit at the troubled King-Drew Medical Center. This move is seen as part of a year-long effort to save the hospital as it undergoes training and restructuring. Patients with severe trauma will have to go to other area hospitals. The Board of Supervisors plans to take a vote on this next week. Joining Larry is Jim Lott, executive Vice President for the Hospital Association of Southern California, Marcy Zwelling-Aamot, Immediate Past President of the Los Angeles County Medical Association and a member of the Los Angeles County Hospital Commission and a former emergency room physician at Harbor General, and Dr. Tom Garthwaite, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.