SCRIPPS EAST COUNTY: Attempts to Stop Hospital Closure Dropped
The three-month battle over the closure of Scripps Memorial Hospital East County ceased yesterday, after East County Supervisor Dianne Jacob officially gave up her attempts to keep the facility open, the San Diego-Union Tribune reports. During a news conference outside the county Health and Human Services Agency, Jacob said, "There is no question in my mind that Scripps is going to close the hospital on June 5." Despite numerous attempts by county officials to keep the facility open, Scripps officials would not back down from their plans to close, citing severe financial losses. County officials' main concern is emergency services as patients will now be forced to travel an additional 10 to 12 minutes to reach another facility. The closure will overwhelm neighboring facilities and increase waiting times at other emergency rooms, county officials maintained. Beginning tomorrow, the Scripps East emergency department will be placed on diversion and the facility will stop accepting admissions. All ambulatory patients arriving at the emergency room will be treated and released or transferred. Remaining in-patients will begin transferring out to meet Monday's closure deadline (Pierce, 6/1).
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