keeping hospitals open...

The decline of public hospitals has severely affected the vulnerable populations. For populations like the elderly, economically disadvantaged, uninsured, and undocumented, public hospitals are their primary and even their only source of health care. Public hospitals, which are funded by local governments, are often considered safety nets for uninsured patients who have little access to medical care. However, because public hospitals are often treated like the ultimate safety nets (overused services w/o adequate compensation), many of them can no longer afford to keep their doors open. Caring for vulnerable populations puts a burden and a financial strain on hospitals that are barely making ends meet as it is. MLK is an example of these financial realities and its closure is extremely significant not only because it is located in an urban area, but because its in a part of LA that is already underserved. This has huge implications for our health care system as a whole because MLK is just one of the many hospitals that have closed in the declining trend. The decline of hospitals decreases health care access in a way that affects everyone. A decrease in access, in turn, means a decrease in quality and appropriate care and an increase in costs. And still hospitals that manage to keep their doors open, will experience overcrowding and longer wait times for their patients. The decline of public hospitals is happening rapidly and is affecting urban and rural areas equally. We need to find a way to keep hospitals open because the decline lowers access to quality/affordable care and ultimately results in an unhealthy and underserved population.