CA Hospital May Close Its ED

From the Mercury News

Downey Regional Medical Center may have to close its emergency room because of the exorbitant costs of treating uninsured patients, hospital officials said.

Nine other emergency rooms in the county have shut down since 2003. Downey's, which served 46,307 patients last year, would be the largest recent closure and would force crowded hospitals in Whittier and Bellflower to absorb its patients, county officials said.

"It's going to be horrible," said Carol Meyer, the county's head of emergency services. "Our emergency system is falling apart."

On Tuesday, the private nonprofit hospital asked the county Board of Supervisors to help pay for treating poor patients by approving a plan that would have entailed a tax hike. Supervisors rejected that appeal, arguing that helping Downey could prompt other hospitals to come calling for aid.

The county's Department of Health Services is staring at a $1 billion shortfall over the next three years.

"I don't know how you could ask us to subsidize a private nonprofit," Supervisor Gloria Molina said. "Every single hospital would line up, because they have the same situation as you do."