Graphic by Fei Yu/Neon Tommy
Following multiple incidents of malpractice, fraud and preventable patient deaths exposed by the Los Angeles Times‘ Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage, the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in South L.A.’s Willowbrook neighborhood 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, representing hope, health, and rejuvenation in a city that was rebounding from violence and death. It represented power for African Americans. It opened with the promise to be the best hospital in America.
As time went on, the hospital fell victim to negligence and systemic administrative failure.
Now, after eight 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. [Read more…]
