The Daniel Freeman Hospital site is now a housing development called Grace Park, resulting in one less potential space for valuable beds to fight Covid-19.
Daniel Freeman Hospital used to operate in Inglewood, California on the corner of Grace and Prairie. Sadly, as time passed the hospital was shut down to a variety of reasons. Like so many black areas, the local hospital faced hard times after white flight and became a symbol of the many inequities in medical care for black communities.
Nonetheless, it served many blacks including those who live in North Inglewood’s senior living areas, such as the areas near Hillcrest, Manchester and La Brea. Quietly nestled in the neighborhood are numerous senior living housing developments. Today, many of the black residents in the general area are seniors.
After the hospital was closed, the lot remained vacant and abandoned with the occasional movie shoot. However it still remained a physical space which could have been converted into hospital accommodations if needed.
Now it has become a housing development for the new urbanites as part of the ever-encroaching black relocation/urban change in our cities—here, the new Inglewood landscape centered around the NFL and NBA stadiums in construction and the opening soon metro stops.[i] Built by Harridge Development Group, it’s called “Grace Park”. It consists of 228 detached condos and is “expected to appeal to Los Angeles County’s highly educated tech workers; Google, Facebook, Snapchat and Uber a are among the many tech-oriented companies nearby.“[ii] Nearly completed, this project wiped out space for thousands of possible beds.
The only remaining hospitals in Inglewood are Centinela Hospital Medical Center and Medico. I have been in the ER at Centinela Hospital Medical Center and it is already filled. The rooms were all occupied. I received my treatment from a bed placed inside the hallway.
The elderly are most at risk for infection and death from the coronavirus 19. The Chinese Centre for Disease Control (CCDC) released the largest study which found that the highest fatality rate of 14.8% was in seniors aged 80 and over.[iii] Most deaths were in individuals aged 60 and over. The need for beds for this population is paramount. For example, news articles regarding China reported people complaining that their elderly parents died while traveling between hospitals looking for available beds.[iv] Thus it appears that seniors are at great risk of death if they cannot receive treatment in time. Because seniors are the highest-risk population who need to receive immediate medical care, the seniors living in Inglewood are also going to need access to available beds as soon as necessary. Daniel Friedman Hospital used to serve this population; it’s now a housing development.
Inglewood is going to need many more beds. According to the US census and American Community Surveys, Inglewood has 11.7% of peoples aged over 65.[v] With an estimated population of 109,419 Inglewood would need approximately 12,036 beds at least.[vi] Other data which could provide general guidance to the estimate of how many beds may be needed include Medicare/Medical data and other community data. Inglewood will need to coordinate with local hospitals in other cities to deal with the overflow if necessary. Other high-risk populations will also need to be accounted for. Of course, bed space needs to be planned for non-seniors, etc. However, seniors are a group that will more than likely account for the initial spike in cases in Inglewood, which could trigger health and logistic issues/emergency. Of course there is a lot of work to make this happen, but starting with target numbers with known high risk populations is a good place to start.
Compounding this problem is the unequal distribution of protective supplies. Within 2 days of San Francisco’s declaration of emergency, ALL of the face masks were sold out at every major commercial distributor online in California.[vii] Meanwhile idiot and self-obsessed celebrities and others wasted hoarded masks with selfies. The greedy, stupid, vain, mean, and rich bought all the supplies leaving everyone else to hope that the government is right about not needing masks even though the rest of the world wears them. It doesn’t matter as we can’t get them. Many seniors live on Social Security and could not begin to financially compete with techies and celebrities for masks. Many Inglewood residents would need help to buy masks as well or any other protective equipment. Regardless of whether the CDC requires masks, the issue of greed and inequity in accessing this and other equipment/medicines exists and will prevent many who truly need it from receiving it. Without intervention, all of the supplies will be sold out again as the virus spreads.
Medical and government suppliers will be crucial for adjusting the inequities resulting from commercial acquisition of supplies by citizens. I hope extra precautions will be available to seniors at hospitals and pharmacies in adequate number. Many people’s parents, including mine, are in their 80s and need all the extra protection they can get before they catch the coronavirus 19.
Sufficient funding must be available from the government for available beds, medicines, treatment, follow-up, etc. As it is the last day of Black History Month, maybe we should have asked the white house for some money as, according to two online articles, Trump apparently loves black people this month[viii]….Jokes… But seriously, black areas across the country are underfunded and underprovided for regarding medical care and hospitals. Policy backed by money is needed to ensure we receive all necessary treatment in equal amounts and concern.
Proper information identifying active hospitals in Black areas is vital!!! Most disturbing is the lack of accurate information available if a person needed to find a hospital in an emergency. Searching for Daniel Freeman Hospital, I found numerous cites providing inaccurate information on Bing regarding Daniel Freeman Hospital’s existence. The number, (310) 674-7050, does not work!!!! Recent posts from online job review board “Indeed” from former employees give the appearance that it is a working hospital.[ix] In addition, another cite, “Healthgrades”, lists Daniel Freeman as operating and receiving awards.[x] “Wikipedia” is also inaccurate. I also found incorrect information regarding general hospital listings in Inglewood such as the cite Healthgrades.[xi] It is almost impossible to find an accurate, definitive list identifying the local hospitals. A list identifying the local hospitals should be on the City of Inglewood’s website. This is unacceptable!! The risk of people going and loosing critical time is too great and likely to happen. Blacks must be able to get accurate local hospital information. To those on the Affordable Care Act plans, Medicaid, Medical, HMOs and PPOs I suggest first looking at your provider’s books or website for information regarding the nearest hospital or treatment location at this time.
The bottom line is there is a lot of new construction for the new urbanites and not enough hospitals for the current Black and Hispanic residents in Inglewood, CA. One such project, “Grace Park” may cost lives. Hopefully we can fix this.
[i]Jenna Chandler, “Builder buys 18 acres Near Rams stadium announces plan for 228 homes” Curbed Los Angeles, May 10, 2017, https://la.curbed.com/2017/5/10/15610422/grace-park-new-homes-development-rams-stadium https://la.curbed.com/2017/5/10/15610422/grace-park-new-homes-development-rams-stadium; Ingrid Jones, “The Hoffman Company Brokers Deal on 18-Acre, 310 Unit Urban Infill Community Near New NFL Stadium Complex in Inglewood”, Patch, May 11, 2017, https://patch.com/california/culvercity/hoffman-company-brokers-deal-18-acre-310-unit-urban-infill-community-near-new.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] “Coronavirus: Largest study suggest elderly and sick are most at risk” BBC.com, February 18, 2020 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51540981.
[iv] Joyce Liu and Grace Tsoi, “Coronavirus Wuhan diary: “he got a hospital bed three hours before he died”, BBC.co, February 14, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51440129.
[v] QuickFacts: Inglewood, CA, US Census, February 29, 2020, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/inglewoodcitycalifornia/PST045218
[vi] Ibid. This 12,036 estimate is a good place to start because it allows for extra beds due to some seniors not needing them for various reasons, i.e., not sick or have/prefer a different hospital, while having enough beds for those who do.
[vii] See Avery Hartmans and Katie Canales, “San Francisco’s Mayor Has Declared a State of Emergency As Coronavirus Continues to Spread”, Business Insider, February 25, 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-state-of-emergency-coronavirus-covid19-outbreak-2020-2. By Feb. 27 afternoon, everywhere was sold out where I looked.
[viii] See articles about Trump’s Black History Month Event or Paris Dennard or DeRoy Murdock. Jokes people, jokes.
[ix] https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Daniel-Freeman-Hospital/reviews?fcountry=US&floc=Inglewood%2C+CA.
[x] https://www.healthgrades.com/hospital-directory/california-ca-los-angeles/daniel-freeman-memorial-hospital-hgst2637966e050729.
[xi] Heathgrades, Hospitals near Inglewood, CA, last accessed February 29, 2020, https://www.healthgrades.com/usearch?where=Inglewood%2C%20CA&pt=33.961781%2C-118.356216&distances=10&sort.facility=bestmatch&category=facility&=.
Essays on Modern Jim Crow and Black Relocation From the Urban Cores; Inglewood, CA is Great with Blacks 