That¹s official word anyway from Tenet Healthcare Corp., which had sought to shutter the Marina del Rey
facility this summer but was fought by community activists and taken to court by the state attorney general.

The hospital, which Santa Barbara-based Tenet had hoped to sell for $22 million, has been taken off the
market, and its future will await a series of public meetings and a recommendation by the hospital’s newly
reconstituted board of directors, said Tenet spokesman David Langness.

"We do not have plans now to go one way or another," Langness said. "The hospital is now operating normally."

Tenet was ordered to keep the hospital open in August by a Superior Court judge who sided with activists
and the attorney general, who had charged that the chain had failed to consult with the public – as required
by its purchase agreement – before starting to close the hospital.

Tenet bought the hospital and its larger sister, Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital, for $57 million in December,
and has beefed up services at Memorial – but had long been seen eyeing the smaller, money-losing Marina
facility only for its property value.

Tenet held a community meeting Sept. 23, which drew about 100 people, and plans another Oct. 8.
Sometime after that the board, which now includes three community members, will make a recommendation
on the hospital¹s future, Langness said.

Staff reporter Laurence Darmiento can be reached at (323) 549-5225 ext. 237 or at
ldarmiento@labusinessjournal.com