Sunday, October 17, 2004 8:36 PM
BY KAREN OCAMB
On Sept. 22, the Los Angeles Sunshine Coalition accused the L.A. County Board of Supervisors of possibly violating the Brown Act open government law by secretly reaching consensus on a plan to close the King/Drew Medical Center ’s trauma unit before holding public hearings.
The Sunshine Coalition pointed to a news conference by the Board of Supervisors after two closed-door sessions on Sept. 7 and Sept. 13. During the closed sessions, they were briefed by Dr. Thomas Garthwaite, director of the county’s Department of Health Services (DHS), on the troubled facility in South L.A. Though they had not heard from the pub- lic, statements by supervisors seemed to indicate they had already reached consensus on a plan of action.
“We hope that eventually we can find a way that we can reenter trauma into that facility,” said Supervisor Gloria Molina.
A press release from the Department of Health Services also announced that, “The County has taken the important step of phasing out King/Drew’s trauma designation. This action is necessary to decompress the hospital.” Later, a spokesperson told KPCC public radio reporter John Rabe the statement was “an error.”
Following the two closed-door meet- ings, the Board of Supervisors held a Sept. 21 public meeting at which they voted 3-1 to start the process to close the trauma center. Because they heard almost four hours of testimony that day, and because they intend to hold further public hearings before a final vote, the supervisors may have already “cured” their possible Brown Act violation.
