GEORGE - FINLEY - BOVARD ADMINISTRATION - AUDITORIUM UNIVERSITY- OF - SOUTHERN - CALIFORNIA
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County-USC impacted by closed hospitals
Lack of finances to serve uninsured clients closedfour Im
Angeles hospitals, which By KRISTIN MAYER
Staff Writer
Four Los Angeles area hospitals have closed for financial reasons this year, leaving remaining hospitals such as Los Angeles County Hospital + USC Medical Center to feel the impact.
Santa Teresita Hospital, Century City Hospital, Community Hospital of Gardena and Elaster Community Hospital all closed this year becaus'e of a lack of finances to serve uninsured clients.
While the actual consequences of increased emergency room walk-ins is hard to predict, area hospitals will certainly see an impact, said Richard Tadeo, chief of prehospital care operations for the Emergency Medical Services.
The LAC + USC Medical Center, which housed 189,000 emergency department patients last year, covers more cases than any other county hospital, said Sean Henderson, vice chairman and associate professor of Emergency Medicine in the Keck School.
With four area hospitals closed, nurses and physicians in open hospitals who already work hard and make significant contributions will now have to deal with increased challenges, he said.
"The system will start to crumble," Henderson said.
As hospitals become overcrowded, staffing will fall off because of less attractive employment opportunities, he said.
Once one emergency room closes, others will follow in a domino effect, Henderson said.
Patients formerly housed at a closed hospital will flood those that remain open, thus straining both
increase ER visits elsewhere.
emergency and general care units, he said.
Defining emergency
“The system has a basic flaw,” Henderson said.
Los Angeles does not have the system of primary care physicians needed to prevent a “runny nose” from heading directly to an emergency room in downtown Los Angeles, he said.
Traffic accidents, fall injuries, drinking and drug-related illnesses and attempted suicide are the most common instances in which students seek emergency room care, said Robert C. Myrtle, professor of Health Services Administration.
Because such cases are dealt with in order of severity, students with life-threatening conditions will receive care in even the most crowded hospitals, Myrtle said.
Yet a majority of emergency room visitors do not fit the severity appropriate for the location.
"Most emergency room visits are not emergencies in the sense that I would use (the term), where someone-needs immediate care for a life-threatening illness,” Myrtle said.
Those individuals who depend on emergency rooms for their primary healthcare services will suffer the most from the closures, Myrtle said. Most uninsured individuals use emergency room services, he said.
For many people, this is their only access to the healthcare system. Uninsured patients cannot afford access to primary care, so they use emergency departments to see a doctor, Henderson said.
“Emergency rooms are the places where a lot of people go for care if they don’t have a doctor,” Myrtle said. And if they do have a doctor,
I see Hospital*, page 3 I
Dental students welcomed
dailytrojan.com
September 3, 2004
Vol. CLIII, No. 10
Matt Seuferer i Oa»iy Trojan
White Coats. First year dental students congregate outside of Bovard Auditorium Thursday night following the white coat ceremony for those entering the dental profession.
Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
INSIDE
There should he no tolerance for police brutality by LAPD.
4
In memory. Lin Peng, a freshman majonng in engineering, visited campus with his mother for orientation.
Freshman known lor tenacity and spirit dies
Lin Peng a graduate of Gunn High School, was to live in Pardee Tower.
BY SUSAN TAM
Staff Writer
Lin Peng, a freshman majoring in engineering and on his way to starting school at USC, died in a car accident Aug. 18 near Fresno. He was 18 years old.
A flat tire caused the accident when Peng, his parents and grandmother were on their way to his new dorm room in Pardee Tower on move-in day.
The accident happened two hours after the family had left their home, said Mei He, a family friend.
Peng is remembered by those who knew him as a gifted student and for his dedication in overcoming obstacles.
I see Pen(. page 3 I
INDEX
The Getty offers a rare glunpse of one of the 20th century's greatest photographer 's work. 5
Trojans take note of Colorado State's season opener. 12
New> Digest____2	Sports______12
Upcoming___....2	Clissifieds--8
Opinions.......4	Lifeatyle____B
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WEATHER
Today: Mostly sunny. High of 83, low of 63. Tomorrow: Sunny. High of 88, low of 65.
Labor Day: The Daily Trojan resumes publication Wednesday, Sept. 8