National

L.A. Hospitals Investigated on Patient-Dumping

By Elaine Korry

Published March 28, 2007 at 1:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

California lawmakers are considering a proposal to toughen penalties on hospitals for dumping homeless patients on Skid Row in Los Angeles.

One hospital that isn't accused of dumping is the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. The hospital treats large numbers of the 90,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County.

Doctors and nurses there can't turn homeless patients away, but many are there to be treated for relatively minor ailments - and the costs of doing that in an emergency room are huge, as was evident on one recent night.

Become a KPBS sponsor

National

Elaine Korry

Elaine Korry is an NPR contributor based in San Francisco. From August 2004-June 2007 she worked as an NPR senior reporter covering social policy for NPR, with a focus on education, and on the lives of the nation's most vulnerable citizens — the homeless, those living in poverty, working in low wage positions, and trying to find their way to a more stable life.

More News