Anaheim General Hospital To Close In May
ANAHEIM (CBSLA.com) — One of Orange County's most troubled hospitals will soon be shutting its doors.
KNX 1070's Ron Kilgore reports staffers at Anaheim General have been notified that the facility will close in May.
Anaheim General to close in May
Over 140 hospital beds are expected to be lost in the closure, even as more county facilities make preparations to accommodate more patients under the federal Affordable Care Act, according to the Orange County Register.
The emergency room at Anaheim General is already closed after state regulators fined the hospital's owner, Pacific Health Corp., $7 million for failing to pay wages, issuing bad checks, and failing to provide insurance coverage after collecting premiums.
The closure comes two years after the facility was put up for sale after nearly closing from a loss in federal funding, the Register reported.
Nurse Shannon Ladd said some personnel will stay on even as patients are transferred out of Anaheim General.
"Let's finish, let's do this right," said Ladd. "What if someone from the community that doesn't know the ER closed comes in with an emergency? At least there's a doctor there and nurses on staff, we could help and then send out if we need to."
Ladd - who said her paychecks have also bounced - added she is unsure whether the hospital will ever make good on her wages.
Carlos Fierro, who has been coming to the hospital and buying medications at the pharmacy next door for 20 years, was also unsure where he would go next.
"We'll see what to do," Fierro said.
The scheduled closure date for Anaheim General is May 23.
