Residents of Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles and its
surrounding communities are being forced to travel farther to seek
care for life threatening health problems after the closure of
Century City Hospital emergency room Monday.
Patients are being diverted to other local hospitals, including
the UCLA Medical Center, until fall, when the Century City facility
is scheduled to reopen under a new name and ownership.
The increased travel time to UCLA or other hospitals could cause
problems for critically ill or injured patients in need of
immediate care, causing some concern among members of the community
as well as the doctors and staff of the hospital.
Besides UCLA Medical Center, patients are being diverted to
Midway Hospital Medical Center, Brotman Hospital and Cedars Sinai
Hospital for emergencies.
The rest of the Century City hospital and its 186 beds will
remain open until April 30, at which point it too will be closed
temporarily .
Many doctors and patients alike are disappointed by the
hospital’s closure.
“The doctors are not happy about having to send patients
to hospitals they are not familiar with,” said Jim Norris, an
office manager for one of the hospital’s doctors.
Some also are upset about increased travel time and change of
doctors.
Shirley Collins, a Culver City resident, said, “All of my
doctors are there. I don’t know what I’m going to do when the
hospital closes.”
Tenet Healthcare decided to sell the Century City hospital as
well as 14 other Los Angeles County hospitals in January during a
restructuring move designed to cut operating costs.
Dr. Stephen Newman, chief executive officer of Tenet California,
said in a statement, “We intend to work sensitively and
cooperatively with medical professionals and leaders in the
communities affected by the divestitures to minimize any potential
disruptions in patient care.”
The Salus Surgical Group purchased the hospital and is scheduled
to reopen the medical center, including the emergency room, Sept. 1
after renovation. The Beverly Hills-based Salus is renaming the
facility the Century City Doctors Hospital.
Salus signed a 26-year lease agreement and will run the hospital
as a full-service acute care facility. The Century City Doctors
Hospital will be the first hospital the group manages. Currently,
Salus operates five surgery centers, including one in Beverly
Hills.