Special legislative committee established to examine re-opening MLK Hospital

The California State Senate Rules Committee has approved Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas’ (D-Los Angeles) urgent request to create a legislative committee with the purpose of aggressively working to address Los Angeles County’s growing health care crisis.
Ridley-Thomas will chair the Senate Select Committee on the Los Angeles County Health Care Crisis, which will provide a legislative forum for all key stakeholders interested in efforts to re-establish the Martin Luther King Jr. county medical complex as a principal focus of emergency room and health care safety net services in South Los Angeles. The committee will also seek to identify solutions to the challenges that led to the hospital’s closure which continue to jeopardize the financial viability and quality of patient care at nearby facilities, both private and public.
The continuing crisis facing L.A. County’s health care systemcoupled with the recent demise of negotiations to re-open Martin Luther King Jr. hospital and the county’s looming budget shortfall of nearly $200 million in health services for the coming year.