Patricia Nazario
December 03, 2008
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L.A. County's newest supervisor wants to retrofit the Martin Luther King Urgent Care Center so it'll survive a major earthquake. Mark Ridley-Thomas says that's the first step toward restoring the facility as a full-service hospital. KPCC's Patricia Nazario reports on his effort to jump-start the process.

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Patricia Nazario: Before caregivers can focus on quality patient health care, before a new operator will assume responsibility for Martin Luther King-Harbor Hospital, Second District Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas told reporters that the facility must be equipped to deliver a 21st century standard of service.

Mark Ridley-Thomas: And you cannot do that in a facility that doesn't meet seismic standards.

Nazario: On the lawn at the MLK Urgent Care Center, Ridley-Thomas said he's focusing like a laser on reopening the hospital that used to operate on the property. The seismic retrofit is the first step, he said. A short time later, at the L.A. County supervisors' meeting, he introduced a motion that mobilizes various county departments to research his proposal.

Ridley-Thomas: And report back to this board in 60 days with the appropriate estimates and schedules.

Nazario: It's too early to know how much those estimates and schedules will cost county taxpayers. The medical facility is 40 years old. Ridley-Thomas fears it could collapse during a major earthquake. The Hospital Association of Southern California says some 95 percent of hospital buildings statewide are in similar condition.

The combined cost to bring all of them up to current seismic code is $150 billion. The state has delayed enacting safety improvement standards for more than 20 years because many hospitals can't afford to shore up their buildings against potential earthquakes.