Fate Of King Drew Medical Center Concerns Doctors, Health Administrators; New Survey, Study Reveals Impact On All L.A. County Residents: 'Don't Throw The Baby Out With The Bathwater!' Says Community Group.

LOS ANGELES -- Three out of four doctors and medical office administrators believe the fate of King Drew Medical Center will affect the entire Los Angeles County health care system, according to a recent survey of health care professionals.

Nine out of 10 doctors and administrators surveyed are "concerned" about the future of the troubled King Drew Medical Center, according to the Health Care Professional Survey, an independent, selective survey conducted last week by the strategic communications firm of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates.

"The fate of King Drew will influence the entire Los Angeles health care network," said Felix Aguilar, a Long Beach physician who is a member of the new community advocate group Coalition For Health & Justice, which commissioned the Health Care Professional Survey. "Health professionals realize that eliminating vital services in South Los Angeles will not only affect those in close proximity, but residents on the Westside, Eastside, San Fernando Valley and South Bay as well. In the simplest terms, this survey tells the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, 'Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!'"

The results of the Health Care Professional Survey of 50 doctors and health administrators in Los Angeles County was released simultaneously with the findings of a study, commissioned by L.A. Health Action and prepared by the National Health Foundation, that confirms the vital role King Drew Medical Center plays in the community and cautions against eliminating the hospital's teaching focus.

"Stripping the teaching component from King Drew, which has been suggested, will have ripple effects through the region's public and private health care system that will threaten the well-being of the indigent and uninsured population in Los Angles County," said Yolanda Vera, Director of L.A. Health Action.

The Health Care Professional Survey also revealed that respondents believe attempts should be made to improve conditions at King Drew before any cutbacks are made. And the overwhelming majority of health professionals interviewed believe politics are contributing to the controversy surrounding the future of King Drew Medical Center.

Specific research findings include:

    --  Ninety percent of doctors and administrators interviewed are
        concerned about the future of King Drew.

        --  Seventy-two percent of doctors and administrators
            interviewed are "very concerned" about the future of King
            Drew while 18 percent are "concerned."

        --  Ten percent of health professionals expressed no concern
            about King Drew's future.

    --  Seventy-four percent of those responding to the survey
        believed that the fate of King Drew Medical Center impacts the
        entire health system in Los Angeles County.

    --  Sixty-two percent of health professionals interviewed believe
        that residents outside of South Los Angeles would feel the
        impact if services such as neo-natal, pediatrics and
        obstetrics were eliminated at King Drew.

    --  Eight out of 10 respondents (80 percent) believe that Navigant
        Consulting (hired by the Los Angeles County Board of
        Supervisors in late 2004) and the Hospital Advisory Board
        should be given more time to improve the conditions at King
        Drew before a decision is made to eliminate services.

    --  Seventy-two percent of those interviewed believe it is
        important for King Drew Medical Center to maintain its
        affiliation with Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and
        Science, and continue to train doctors and other medical
        professionals.

    --  Eight out of 10 health professionals (78 percent) interviewed
        believe that politics are complicating the King Drew
        controversy.

The findings of the L.A. Health Action Report were based on an analysis of qualitative data from reports, interviews and other sources and used quantitative data to compare King Drew with L.A. Metropolitan Medical Center, St. Francis Medical Center and Suburban Medical Center.

"The news media has focused on King Drew's ailments," said Vera of L.A. Health Action. "But the debate has barely touched on the vast impact the medical center has on the communities it serves. As a teaching hospital, King Drew provides an array of medical services that are not available in other hospitals in South Los Angeles, and treats some of the sickest patients in Los Angeles County. By ceasing to be a teaching hospital that provides advanced treatment and specialty services, some of these patients may simply go without treatment until it is too late."

The key findings of the report suggest that if King Drew loses its status as a teaching hospital there will be:

--Loss of more than $115 million/year(1) revenues in terms of Medi-Cal reimbursements. This funding helps offset physician intern salaries enabling the hospital to serve a large number of uninsured patients.

--Uninsured SPA 6 patients will find it more difficult to access services. As a teaching hospital, King Drew has been able to treat more uninsured and county indigent patients than other SPA 6 hospitals; however this number has been decreasing since 2000. In 2004, King Drew served almost twice the number of uninsured patients (2,826 patients, 28 percent of total patients served) than St. Francis (1,514, 6 percent of total patients served).

--King Drew patients are generally sicker and in worse health condition. The proportion of patients with ambulatory sensitive diagnoses was more than double any other hospital in the South Los Angeles region.

--Loss of $20 million/year in research funding from the National Institutes of Health. These funds support unique programs at King Drew, including sickle cell, endocrinology and neuroscience research and services, and give low-income patients access to cutting-edge treatments as participants in clinical trials and research protocols. Many specialty training programs will be eliminated including emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, family and internal medicine, pediatrics and psychiatry, further compounding difficulties in accessing specialty services that are more expensive to provide.

--Loss of a primary regional source of physicians who go on to practice in underserved communities. More than 80 percent of King Drew graduates practice in low-income urban centers compared to 20 percent of physician graduates from UCLA.

Coalition for Health & Justice

The Coalition for Health & Justice is a collaborative of doctors, health experts, researchers, and community advocates that formed in the fall of 2004 to address the unfolding crisis at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center crisis. The founding members of the Coalition include Community Health Councils, Strategic Concepts for Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE)/ Action for Grassroots Empowerment and Neighborhood Development Alternatives (AGENDA), Community Coalition, Association of Black Cardiologists, Minority Health Institute and National Health Foundation. The Coalition's primary purpose is to find a way to inform and engage community leaders that King Drew must be fixed without reducing essential services. The Coalition supports efforts to improve operations at the hospital and opposes any reduction in the scope of services that jeopardizes the hospital's ability to address the critical health care needs of South Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.

Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates is a leading strategic communications firm that brings the lessons learned on the campaign trail into the boardroom using polling and media testing services to provide clients with strategic, actionable recommendations.

Survey Methodology

The Corporate Research Group of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates conducted 50 interviews with doctors and administrators who work in Los Angeles Country. The interviews were conducted from August 9 to August 11, 2005.

National Health Foundation Report

The King Drew Medical Center Transition Report used historical data from a variety of sources. Data sources include: four databases from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (2000-2003 Hospital Annual Financial Data, 2004 Hospital Quarterly Financial Data, 2000-2003 Inpatient Hospital Discharge Data, 2000-2004 Hospital Annual Utilization Data) the County of Los Angeles King/Drew Medical Center Navigant Consulting Assessment Report (2005) the American Hospital Association (AHA) Guide to the Health Care Field 2002 and 2005 editions, the Hospital Self Pay Study Findings Report prepared by the National Health Foundation (2005), and interviews with health care professionals at King Drew as well as other leaders and professionals in the Los Angeles heath care arena.

(1)This figure is based on NHF's estimation using 2000-2003 OSHPD Hospital Annual Financial Data.