Supervisor Ridley-Thomas joined by other medical leaders speak out about King hospital
L.A. County is known for having the best trauma care systems in the world, with South L.A. alone making up 20 percent of trauma related death with a mortality rate of 3.6 percent. With the reopening of King Community Hospital this summer, medical leaders have high hopes these numbers continue to decrease.
This summer the hospital, will have a chance to redeem itself from it’s infamous reputation for haphazard care and win community members over. Currently, the hospital is on the brink of doing something revolutionary.
Friday July 17, Mark Ridley-Thomas hosted a brown paper bag lunch in the hospital board room. The event provided an opportunity for the press to speak with the Supervisor and key members of the medical staff about the new hospital, MLK Medical Campus and trauma care in South Los Angeles.
“We had the privilege and the opportunity to recruit people with the right mind set to start with,” said Jim Lott, Chief Strategy Officer at MLK Community Hospital.. “Not just anybody who applied here got the chance to come to this hospital. Once we got them [staff] we put them through training that involved customer service.”
The new building will have an Emergency Department staffed 24-hours a day seven days a week with 21 hospital beds. The trauma center will be able to provide care for various types of trauma related injuries. The center will also have research and teaching facilities.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas had this to say in a press release:
“Ensuring quality trauma care is a priority for me,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “We need more information and analysis to get a complete picture of the county’s trauma care needs. In particular, the trauma care system must provide intensive services, including trauma prevention strategies in those ‘hot spot’ areas with persistently high trauma mortality rates.”
The hospital is a part of a medical campus focusing on preventive care and holistic health with the help of an Outpatient Center, Mental Health Urgent Care Center, Center for Public Health. Soon the medical building will have a Recuperative Care Center which will cater to patients who are homeless, child medical hub and a community garden.
On August 7, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital will have its dedication ceremony; the medical building has yet to release more details.
