Gardens Regional Hospital, which treated the poor and homeless, files for bankruptcy
The California hospital was cited last year for 'patient dumping' a homeless woman at Los Angeles area of Skid Row.
Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center, which operates in a depressed section of southern Los Angeles, has filed for bankruptcy.
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy was filed June 6 in California Central Court in Los Angeles.
The 137-bed hospital listed debt of up to $50 million and between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors.
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Since 2010, state and federal reimbursement to the facility has dwindled, and costs have not met the operating budget for the facility, which took in more than 8,500 emergency-room patients last year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The hospital has provided more than $11 million in charitable care each year since opening in 1997, the WSJ reported.
In 2015, the Los Angeles City Attorney filed a civil lawsuit against the hospital for alleged "patient dumping,", according to Southern California Public Radio.
The hospital denied wrongdoing.
The woman, who reportedly had a history of mental illness and chronic disease, was allegedly left on Skid Row in front of a mission house was wearing a paper hospital top and pants for clothing. She had a history of going to the emergency room and being discharged. On the occasion cited by the city attorney, facility records stated she was released to "home," though her address was listed as "homeless," the report said.
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The woman known as Jane Roe was eventually transported to Silver Lake Medical Center where she was admitted for schizophrenia exacerbation, according to Southern California Public Radio. Her condition reportedly improved with treatment, and she was later discharged to a board and care facility.
Gardens Regional Hospital was among several hospitals cited by the City Attorney's Office for patient dumping.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
