WILLOWBROOK – California Assemblymember Mike Gipson is proposing state funding be awarded to MLK Hospital to stave off the closure of its maternity ward.
State officials, community leaders, and stakeholders gathered in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital on June 7 to implore lawmakers to set aside funding in the current budget to keep the vital service open,
“MLK is one of the last hospitals providing critical front-line services to our residents and yet it’s on the brink of closure,” said Gipson. “This small but mighty community hospital has and continues to show resilience and determination but now it is time for the state to step up and support MLK in ways that reflect the reality of the situation.
The press conference was in response to a news report discussing the loss of maternity wards at local hospitals over the last four years.
It was reported that over the last decade, nearly 50 maternity wards have closed across California, with more than half shutting down in just the last four years. Seventeen were in Los Angeles County, where maternity ward closures have far outpaced the region’s declining birth rate.
Centinela Hospital announced the closure of its maternity ward last November after a woman died during labor earlier in the year. The hospital referred mothers to nearby hospitals including MLK, St. Francis in Lynwood, and Providence Little Company of Mary in Torrance.
“South LA is facing a critical shortage of maternity care services, with 17 hospitals closing their maternity wards, leaving residents without access to essential healthcare. In addition to its maternity ward at risk of closure, MLKCH is at the brink of closure altogether without additional funding assistance. This is devastating to expecting mothers, their families, and to every resident in its service area throughout South LA and outward,” said Gipson.
Gipson has been sounding the alarm on funding issues with the Willowbrook-based hospital since 2020 while attending a Compton City Council meeting.
The state is currently facing a multi-billion dollar revenue shortfall that lawmakers are grappling to address.
“I am seeking $25 million in this current budget and a restructured model,” said Gipson. “This hospital serves everyone whether they are able to pay or not.”
“People died when this hospital closed when they had to be transported out of the area and we’ll be damned if it happens again,” exclaimed Gipson.
Last November, it was reported that the nonprofit hospital, which was established to replace the closed King/Drew Medical Center, lost more than $42 million in the budget year that ended in June 2023, according to officials at the privately run facility.
Sen. Steve Bradford, who represents the area alongside Gipson, spoke of his time working at the hospital while in high school.
“This was my first job on the 3rd floor in the surgical unit and I saw firsthand how crucial it is for this hospital to be open,” said Bradford.
He spoke of touring the hospital last year with Gov. Gavin Newsom who provided additional funding for infrastructure and staffing but expressed more is needed.
“MLK Jr. Community Hospital is vital to our South LA community’s health and we must add state budget funding to keep its doors open,” said Bradford. “We often say that the state budget is a reflection of our values and now is the time to prove it.”
The hospital’s reopening was made possible through the efforts of former County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and owner of the Los Angeles Times, Patrick Soon-Shiong who donated $100 million to reopen the facility, with UCLA doctors and residents on staff.
“It’s now an opportunity to right a wrong in which disparities would affect not only the entire community, it affects the nation, so the opportunity for me now to be a catalyst for the L.A. County and the UC system to come together and open up this institution to me is a privilege,” said Soon-Shiong at the time.
Lawmakers have until the end of June to pass the budget.
