Hospital backers won't give up

By Lee Peterson

DAILY BREEZE

With less than a month left before the planned closure of Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital, community advocates are raising hopes that their efforts to keep the Marina del Rey medical center open will be more than short-lived.

So far their campaign to see the hospital stay open has bought an extra month — Tenet Healthcare Corp. had wanted to start closing the hospital last Monday. Now the closure date is Aug. 26.

While the health-care organization sees the delay as only temporary, closure critics see it as a positive sign that they may be able to keep the Lincoln Boulevard hospital open indefinitely.

Tenet purchased Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital and Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood in December last year for $55 million. Because it was a for-profit company buying nonprofit facilities, the deal had to be approved by the state attorney general.

The attorney general required Tenet to meet a list of conditions once it bought the facilities. Tenet also owns Centinela Hospital in Inglewood and Brotman Medical Center in Culver City.

Many of the conditions explicitly required the continued operation of the much larger Daniel Freeman Memorial for several years. However, the conditions also contain language that prevents the closure of Daniel Freeman Marina, unless certain actions are performed.

The state Attorney General's Office has argued that Tenet has not completed those actions — such as the completion of a comprehensive planning process for both hospitals, that includes consultation with community-based health-care organizations.

Closure foes were buoyed by the attorney general's closure-stopping actions earlier this month, and now await the results of an Aug. 13 hearing before a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. Asked by the attorney general to issue an injunction to keep the hospital open, the judge will hear Tenet's side of the issue.

“I think the situation we are in is unprecedented. As far as I know, it's the first time the attorney general has found that the purchaser of a nonprofit hospital has failed to comply with the conditions of the sale,” said Maura Kealey, health-care coordinator for Service Employees International Union, which opposed the sale of the two hospitals to Tenet in the first place.

“We are looking at the much bigger picture of keeping the hospital open indefinitely and, if not with Tenet, for Tenet to step aside and sell it to another party,” said Julie Inouye, president of the Vista del Mar Neighborhood Association.

Tenet, however, said it wanted to close the hospital because it was struggling along with too few patients to support it. The amount of business it was doing was not enough to justify the extensive renovations — including earthquake-proofing — that the facility needs.

Closing Marina, Tenet said, would boost the chances for long-term survival of Daniel Freeman Memorial.

Tenet spokesman David Langness said the company is discussing the terms of the sale with the Attorney General's Office, but it isn't known how long it will take to show that Tenet has met those conditions to the state's satisfaction.

Publish Date:07/28/02