After reading this post, one might think that I have a bone to pick with the editors, and some reporters of the Los Times – and you’d be right!
For years, it has been my opinion that when it comes to nurses, nursing unions and the nursing profession the LA Times has been inconsistent and at [...]

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By now the closure of King/Harbor Hospital’s Emergency Room after the failed “make or break” CMS inspection has made the rounds of the newspapers, radio talk shows and various news outlets. I was one of the many King/Drew Medical Center supporters who both fought for and knew that the hospital could be “fixed” if the [...]

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Back in 2004 I wrote an article on an outside observer’s look at the past eleven months at King/Drew Medical Center. In light of the recent developments (follow this link to the coverage in the Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-king23jun23,0,1531420.story?coll=la-headlines-california); I thought it was time to publish this article to my blog.
How to “Tear-Down” a Hospital [...]

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The Los Angeles Times is an interesting paper, getting a letter to the editor published is nearly impossible, unless of course you are one of the “chosen” that seems to get a letter in nearly every time. However, for us plebeians, we are relegated to rules of word length and a standard of no letter [...]

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March 21, 2005
Editor
Los Angeles Times
Times Mirror Square
Los Angeles, CA
Dear Editor,
So Navigant has requested a “change-order” for the sum of $3.4 million, and Ms. Robertson states that the increase reflects, “additional costs that had been anticipated when the contract was signed last fall.” Then why was their bid $3.4 million shy; why not state that the [...]

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February 2, 2005
Editor
Los Angeles Times
Times Mirror Square
Los Angeles, CA
Dear Editor,
Management is and has always been at the heart of the problems at King/Drew Medical Center. It’s weak, poor, and bad management that allowed for many of the lapses and failings identified by JCAHO. Though the problems identified are long-term, let’s not forget that Dr. Garthwaite [...]

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January 15, 2005
Editor
Pasadena Star News
911 Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91109
Re: “Oversight overdoes”
Dear Editor,
I would have to agree that if the Board of Supervisors does not cede their control to the independent body then that body would become just another layer in the already bloated County bureaucracy. However, you are wrong to think that Dr. Garthwaite needs [...]

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September 20, 2004
Editor
Los Angeles Times
Times Mirror Square
Los Angeles, CA
Dear Editor,
Management is and has always been at the heart of the problems at King/Drew Medical Center. It is weak, poor, and bad management that allowed for many of the lapses and failings identified in your series. The people who failed the hospital, and more importantly the [...]

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Here is my most recent letter to the LA Times regarding their recent article “King/Drew Treatment Errors Cited” and the comments made by LA County Officials:
August 5, 2004
Editor
Los Angeles Times
Times Mirror Square
Los Angeles, CA
Re: “King/Drew Treatment Errors Cited”
Dear Editor,
It would appear from Dr. Garthwaite’s comments that he fails to comprehend the seriousness of the nature [...]

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