BILL ANALYSIS
ACR 2
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Date of Hearing: May 6, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
ACR 2 (Hall) - As Introduced: December 1, 2008
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This resolution urges the University of California (UC) to
expedite negotiations with the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors and Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science
(Drew University) regarding future management of Martin Luther
King Jr. Hospital (MLHK).
FISCAL EFFECT
Absorbable costs for UC to continue its ongoing discussions with
Drew University and other parties.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Drew University is a private nonprofit corporation
with its own board of trustees. Since 1973, the State has
appropriated funds to UC to support clinical health science
education, research, and public service at UCLA in conjunction
with Drew University. The 2008 Budget Act provided Drew
University $8.7 million for instructional and service
programs.
MLKH, located in the Watts/Willowbrook area of the county, and
also called King-Drew Medical Center, served as the primary
teaching site for UCLA-Drew University medical students and
Drew University medical residents. In August 2007, serious
concerns involving patient care activities led the county
board of supervisors, which has administrative and fiscal
responsibility for the hospital to close MLKH. Two hospitals
have taken most of the trauma patients who would have gone to
MLKH: St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, which is two
ACR 2
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miles east of MLKH, and Harbor-UCLA, which is 10 miles
southwest.
2)Purpose . According to the author, when MLKH closed, the 1.6
million residents of Service Planning Area 6 of Los Angeles
County were left without a public hospital in their area. The
author believes that UC should administer MLKH because of its
success in administering public hospitals and the need for
medical doctors and other health professional to be trained
and to work locally.
3)Status . For the past several months, representatives from UC,
Los Angeles County and the Schwarzenegger Administration have
been discussing an arrangement that would allow MLKH to reopen
as a viable healthcare facility. According to an
informational item presented to the UC Board of Regents at its
March 2009 meeting, a new non-profit entity would be
established to operate the re-opened hospital with a 120-bed
capacity and an emergency room. UC would enter into a
contractual agreement with the non-profit entity to establish
standards pertaining to quality assurance and the provision of
physician services. All parties to the negotiations have
agreed that UC will not provide start-up or ongoing financial
support for the hospital.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081