The Argonaut -- Jan. 16,2003

Tenet final decision on closing Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital could come as early as Jan. 23

BY CINDY FRAZIER

A final decision on the fate of Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital could be made as early as Thursday, January 23rd, according to David Langness, spokesman for the hospital owner, Tenet Healthcare Corp.

That is when the hospital's board of directors will meet for the first time to consider the results of a second study of the hospital's viability and public input from a round of meetings and community outreach conducted by Tenet during the past several months.

The hospital, on Lincoln Boulevard in the Marina area, was due to close in July, but Tenet was forced to keep the hospital open by a court order after attorney general Bill Lockyer filed a lawsuit.

Lockyer wanted Tenet to abide by a number of requirements Lockyer had imposed on the hospital firm when he granted Tenet permission to close the Marina facility, which Tenet purchased in December 2001 from an order of Catholic nuns.

Tenet was ordered by Lockyer to keep open the Marina hospital's sister facility, Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood, which Tenet purchased at the same time it purchased Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital.

Most of Lockyer's requirements concern public participation in a decision on whether to close the hospital.

During two public meetings held during the summer, hundreds of local community members asked Tenet not to close the hospital.

After the hospital closure was announced in May, community members banded together to try to save it and to date have staved off the closure.

After first determining that the Marina area facility was not economically viable and would be too costly to upgrade, Tenet officials agreed after the court order to take a second look at the hospital's viability.

The hospital board meets at the Marina area hospital. Meetings are closed to the public, Langness said.