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Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital Emerges From Troubled History In South L.A.

Staff Reporters & Contributors |
May 30, 2014 | 2:36 p.m. PDT

(Graphic by Fei Yu)
(Graphic by Fei Yu)

Following multiple incidents of malpractice, fraud and preventable patient deaths exposed by the Los Angeles Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage, Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in Willowbrook, Calif. closed its doors for good in 2007.

King/Drew, infamously known as "Killer King," did not start out bad. It was founded in the wake of the Watts Riots in honor of one of history’s greatest heroes. The hospital stood as a pillar of hope, health, and rejuvenation in a city that was rebounding from violence, and unnecessary death. It represented power for African Americans. It opened with the promise to be the best hospital in America. 

However, as time went on, a hospital designed to offer refuge and care for some of Los Angeles County's poorest residents fell victim to negligence and systemic administrative failure. 

Now, after eight long years, nearly 1.2 million residents in the surrounding area will finally gain access emergency health care once again, with the arrival of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in May 2015. The Outpatient Center opened to much fanfare on May 28.

Neon Tommy offers a look back at King/Drew through the eyes of the people who lived through the hospital's tumultuous lifespan and a glimpse of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital as it stands today. Join us, as we chronicle the reemergence of health care access in South Los Angeles—a wide assortment of stories that includes everything from the daily routine of emergency responders, to profiles of hospital artisans.

Staff Reporter Alyssa Spear contributed to this foreward.



 

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