Health Care & Hospital Law
Aug. 15, 2002
Judge Temporarily Blocks Hospital Closure
LOS ANGELES - A judge Tuesday temporarily blocked Tenet HealthSystem from shutting down Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital. Saying she had "no doubt" the Marina del Rey facility could operate safely, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs granted the state attorney general's request for a preliminary injunction against the closure. The corporation had claimed that staffing levels had dipped to dangerous lows after its May 29 announcement that the Marina del Rey facility would be shuttered.
Saying she had "no doubt" the Marina del Rey facility could operate safely, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs granted the state attorney general's request for a preliminary injunction against the closure. The corporation had claimed that staffing levels had dipped to dangerous lows after its May 29 announcement that the Marina del Rey facility would be shuttered.
Tenet's attorney Marjorie Lewis told the judge that the situation at the hospital is "life or death" because some doctors have failed to show up. Ordering the hospital to stay open would jeopardize the public's health and welfare, she contended.
But Deputy Attorney General Wendi Horwitz said the hospital has been running just fine and can continue to do so. If there is a problem with staffing, emergency calls can temporarily be diverted to other area hospitals, she told Janavs.
In her ruling, Janavs said she didn't want to "conclude all the dire things that could happen, would happen."
On July 16, the attorney general's office filed suit against Tenet, claiming that the health care system had broken conditions set as part of its purchase of the nonprofit hospital last year. People v. Tenet Healthsystem DFH Inc. BC277716 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed July 16, 2002).
In the pact, Tenet had agreed to seek input from the community, local officials and county health agencies, among others, and to consult with the Narina governing Board, which oversees hospital operations, before deciding to close.
Janavs said the injunction will be lifted if the corporation fulfills its obligations. If not, the case will go to trial, the judge said.
Julie Inouye, a member of the Save Our Marina Hospital Coalition, said the judge's ruling is precedent-setting.
"No one has taken [Tenet] to court," she said. "It's on the books. If [Tenet] tries to do this to someone else, [future potential plaintiffs will] see this case."
Horwitz said Janavs' decision "is good news to the residents of Marina del Rey who are served by Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital" because it keeps the hospital's doors open.
Tenet spokesman David Langness said that the company "will do everything we can to comply quickly."
Leslie Simmons
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