Los Angeles County closes major hospital
The liberal-tilting Board of Supervisors in Los Angeles County voted to close an important hospital. Other major hospitals are threatened too. The reason, the Board says, is that the money to fund them simply isn’t there.
“Faced with a $210-million health budget shortfall and few painless options for eliminating it, members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to close the county’s only rehabilitation hospital and to reduce the capacity of another hospital by 100 beds.”
Supervisor Gloria Molina had previously opposed the cuts to County-USC, which is in her district. She voted for them Tuesday, saying; “If we can’t do this, the whole system will sink.”
Rancho is the only hospital in the county system that provides rehabilitation services to people with severe head or spinal injuries. The 100-year-old hospital also treats stroke patients and victims of other degenerative diseases, including post-polio syndrome.
Although Rancho averages about 210 inpatients per day, thousands depend on the hospital for the outpatient services it provides .
And where will these people now get the rehab help they so desperately need? Chances are, they won’t…