The ED closed Friday night at King-Harbor Hospital in Los Angeles -- and this one-time Trauma Center and Medical School that once boasted more than 400 hospital beds will close in two
weeks according to the latest news reports. The closure comes as a result of final termination from Medicare after CMS ruled that the hospital was not capable of meeting Medicare Conditions
of Participation after repeated "second chance" extensions produced repeated failures and multiple patient deaths. As it faces closure, fewer than 50 beds were still in operation.

One of the final blows to the hospital's fight for survival came in May when a patient begging for care in the ED waiting was ignored by hospital staff (while other patients called 9-1-1
seeking help for the woman) was removed from the ED by police, but died before reaching the police transport. The EMTALA violation came while the hospital was assuring CMS that the new ED management groups would improve existing deficiencies and the "Governator" wrote the federal government on the hospital's behalf for further extensions of the 2004 notice of termination originally issued against the hospital involving a series of deaths from improper care.

Prosecutors investigated the death and ruled that police wouldnot be charged in the incident. Officials stated that the evidence showed the officers acted to assist the patient. The
official statement states: "Faced with the nursing staff's refusal to render medical care to Rodriquez (Isabel Rodriguez, age 43) the officers determined that Rodriguez would receive
necessary medical care at the Century Regional Detention Center." No decision was announced on possible charges against hospital staff involved.

A hospital security camera is reported to show Rodriguez writhing in pain on the waiting room floor for 45 minutes while a janitor mopped up blood around her as she vomited more
blood.

In ED language, Rodriguez was a "frequent flyer" having sought care each of the three days before her death. She came in on each occasion complaining of stomach pain. She was diagnosed
with gall stones and given pain medication on the prior visits. No details are available on the adequacy of the initial ED visit work-ups.

After her release on May 8, Rodriquez did not leave the hospital grounds, but stopped at benches outside the hospital. At 12:30 am officers were dispatched for "female down yelling for help"
at the hospital front entrance. Officers brought the woman, described as appearing in great pain, to the emergency room where the triage nurse refused to help, according to police
reports.

Unable to get assistance, the officer's ran the woman's name through computers and determined that there was an outstanding parole violation warrant and made the decision to arrest her and
take her to the medical unit at the correctional facility. They wheeled Rodriquez to the patrol car, but found her unresponsive when they tried to place her in the car. Returning to the ED, it
was determined that Rodriquez was dead. The medical examiner's report listed the cause of death as a perforated bowel.

On August 2, 2007, the LA Times reported that the hospital had been cited for radiation safety violations. A compliance conference was scheduled for August 16.

LA County authorities currently are looking to sell the hospital to private operators or re-open the hospital themselves within the next year, but wth the closure of the hospital ED, more than
47,000 ED patients from the Watts area, including many gunshot victims, will have to be absorbed by other hospitals that are already stressed by high volumes.

The 1600 current employees of the hospital apparently will be reassigned in the LA County system, but the hospital had already lost many employees to resignations and firings.

Inspite of tens of millions of dollars in consulting fees, new contractors for essential services, firing hundreds of employees "for cause", the county's repeated assurances to CMS
that the issues at the hospital had been fixed, the hospital failed its last inspection on 8 "Standards Level" deficiencies out of 23. The LA Times reported that during the final
inspection, investigators declared patients at the facility to be in "immediate jeopardy" when a psychiatric patient was left unsupervised and was able to cut herself with a scalpel.

The LA Times in its Saturday, August 11, 2007 story attributes much of the hospital's history of problems to a reluctance by LA County officials to take corrective actions at the hospital out
of fear of being labeled racists.