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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

The Doctor Is Out: Healthcare In South Los Angeles Means Fewer Services And Longer Waits

Neon Tommy |
November 30, 2010 | 9:37 a.m. PST

Skid Row's massive new health facility (Kaitlin Parker)
Skid Row's massive new health facility (Kaitlin Parker)
Martin Luther King, Jr./Drew Medical Center, the main hospital and trauma center that once served South Los Angeles, closed in 2007 after recurring, sometimes deadly problems that earned it the nickname "Killer King." 

Tens of thousands of residents now rely on independent health clinics for many of their medical needs.  Even with an infusion of money once showered on King/Drew, and with dollars provided by healthcare reforms ushered in by President Barack Obama, the clinics struggle. They cannot meet the demands of their communities.

Neon Tommy visited a handful of clinics this past month to get a patients-eye view of their healthcare.

We found Antonio Granados staking out his place in line at 4:30 a.m. at a Compton clinic, where he would remain for most of the morning before getting his medicine.

A massive new health center on Skid Row opened to a grateful community, but its optometry department is missing one key element: It has no staff because of money shortages.

At a Lynwood women's clinic, TV's are blaring to ensure doctor-patient confidentiality because the wall dividers don't reach the ceilings. The next available primary-care appointment: Sometime in February.

Outside a Watts clinic, Louise Webb sits with her son on a park bench reminiscing about the role the closed King/Drew played in her family's history. It is where her brother died on his 18th birthday, the victim of a shooting.

These stories show the challenges and triumphs of healthcare in South L.A., where a community awaits the reopening of its hospital in 2013.

Click here for a Google map of the clinics.



 

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