Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital ER halted ambulance delivery 24 hours

BY CINDY FRAZIER

Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital on Lincoln Boulevard in the Marina area closed its emergency room to ambulances for more than 24 hours during the past weekend because of a lack of an orthopedic surgeon, considered essential to patient service, according to Richard Tadeo of the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency.

The hospital stopped receiving ambulance patients at 10:52 a.m., Saturday, July 27th, and returned to receiving ambulance patients at 12:39 p.m., Sunday, July 28th, Tadeo said.

The hospital remained open for walk-in emergencies or patients arriving by private vehicle.

"We have an agreement with the hospitals allowing them to divert ambulances when they do not have enough staff for patient safety," Tadeo said.

"This happens on occasion, but this has never happened before at the Marina hospital," he said.

The Marina area hospital is in the process of winding down its operation and plans to close on or before Monday, August 26th, hospital officials say.

The Lincoln Boulevard property was put up for sale at the end of May by Tenet Healthcare Corporation, which purchased the hospital — and a sister facility in Inglewood — in December from an order of Catholic nuns.

Local residents and attorney general Bill Lockyer have been fighting to keep the hospital from closing and Lockyer has sued the hospital chain, accusing the firm of failing to abide by certain requirements imposed by his office in order to permit the closure of the Marina area hospital.

A hearing is scheduled Tuesday, August 13th, in the courtroom of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs on Lockyer's bid for a preliminary injunction forcing the hospital to stay open.

The hospital had been due to close Monday, July 22nd, because of staffing shortfalls, but hospital officials agreed after the Lockyer suit was filed to keep the hospital open until Monday, August 26th, provided that hospital staff was available.