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Life & Times Transcript
9/20/07 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- King/Drew is no longer a hospital, but its doctors are still treating patients. Cynthia Nalls>> Our clinics are open five days a week, Monday through Friday, eight a.m. through five o'clock p.m. We also have an urgent care center that's available seven days a week from seven o'clock in the morning until midnight. Val Zavala>> And then, another epic western hits theaters. Our critics draw a bead on "The Assassination of Jesse James". It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Toni Guinyard>> Ask just about anyone about the future of King Harbor Hospital and there's a good chance you'll get a wide range of opinions, especially from people who work there or live nearby. Some of them are emotionally attached to the hospital because of why it was built and what it once stood for. Well, the hospital is still standing, but it's poised for a makeover of its image and perhaps even of its management. >> "My hands are going to be little cold, but I think they're warming up." Toni Guinyard>> Work continues inside King Harbor despite the controversy. >> "Yes, I can feel your baby. Feel it move?" >> "Yes." Toni Guinyard>> It's a hospital with a history now struggling to redefine and overhaul its image after years of being under the microscope. We watched and reported on the community and hospital meetings, the one by one closures of the clinics that had once been the hospital's pride and then the highly publicized patient deaths signaling the beginning of the end. Dr. Bruce Chernof>> We need a change here. The hospital was not able to demonstrate that it meets national standards in every community and, most importantly, underserved communities. The most underserved communities deserve care that meets national standards. Toni Guinyard>> Dr. Bruce Chernof is Director and Chief Medical Officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Under his watch, he's determined to breath new life into the facility. King Harbor Hospital. That's what it's called now, but for years we've known it as King/Drew Medical Center. But federal funding was pulled, so the emergency services were terminated and, even though King is not what it used to be, it is still in many ways open for business and serving the patients. >> "Your red cells are a little low." Toni Guinyard>> And that's what you might not be aware of. After the August closure of the hospital, it may come as a surprise that more than seventy of the hospital's clinics are up and running. >> "You can just have a seat and the doctor will be right with you." Dr. Richard Findlay>> We're not an inpatient service anymore and this and that. There may be the public perception that there's nothing here at all. Dr. Bruce Chernof>> What is closed are the forty-eight beds that we were running and the emergency room, so those two parts of the hospital are no longer open. But the hospital also ran a vibrant set of outpatient clinics. >> "How's the chemotherapy coming along?" Toni Guinyard>> This is one of them, hematology and oncology. >> "And how about your feet? Are you having any swelling here?" >> "No. No swelling." Toni Guinyard>> Its business may be not as usual. Cynthia Nalls>> We've experienced a decrease overall of about thirty percent in the number of patients that are seen here at the facility. Toni Guinyard>> But patients, some of whom thought every inch of the hospital was closed, are returning. Assistant Hospital Administrator, Cynthia Nalls, says those numbers are growing. King Harbor has launched an aggressive outreach campaign plastering their message for everyone to see and mailing three hundred thousand notices to residents. Cynthia Nalls>> We have flyers going out. We have ads on television to let the public know that we are still open and that our clinics and our urgent care center are available for assistance. Dr. Richard Findlay>> It is an important issue mainly because we are in an underserved area. Certainly we have a very high acute in terms of high risk for both kids and adults. The problem of access to health care, this institution as we are, is still an important part of the health care delivery in Los Angeles County. Hilda Garcia>> When I first hear that, I think I don't know where I'm going to go to continue my treatment. Toni Guinyard>> Patient Hilda Garcia says she couldn't imagine having to find another hospital or clinic to go to. Hilda Garcia>> Well, it's a lot of problems because this is the closest hospital where I live. Like I say, I've been here for four and a half years, so I feel comfortable here and they're giving very good treatment. Toni Guinyard>> It's the kind of statement that hospital administrators want and need to hear after weathering continued public and political outcry. Dr. Bruce Chernof>> There are many, many, many patients that received good, high-quality, compassionate care at the old hospital. It may not be a big number, but there were enough incidents and problems that didn't meet national standards that got us to where we are today. Toni Guinyard>> Today what was once a hospital is now operating as a multi-ambulatory care center referred to as King MACC. Approximately eight hundred of the sixteen hundred employees retained their jobs here. The other eight hundred employees were displaced, many of them going to Harbor UCLA Medical Center. As for the future -- Cynthia Nalls>> Right now, we are looking at expanding our clinics. We have some services that we have identified that are really needed in the community itself. We will be adding an ambulatory care area, an outpatient surgery center for our patients. Dr. Bruce Chernof>> We are looking to reopen the hospital hopefully within the next twelve months and we should be open to create solutions. We're looking for possible private providers who could partner with the county to deliver a solution and, if there is no private provider, we need to be able to reopen it as a county hospital. Toni Guinyard>> But getting to that point is going to be a difficult journey. On the day of our interview with Dr. Chernof, the county had just begun its formal search for potential private partners. Have you had any interest? Dr. Bruce Chernof>> Again, the request for solutions is going out this week. There are private hospitals that have spoken with the consultant that we're using, so I think that there will be some interest. But until we get something formal back in writing, that's a tough question to answer. I'm not looking for a one size fits all solution. We are looking for one that can deliver the full scope of services that the community needs. One way or another, we need a hospital that can meet national standards on the corner of 120th and Wilmington. Toni Guinyard>> Right now, it's where the shell of a hospital stands in the heart of a community tired of promises made and then broken. Cynthia Nalls>> The patients are our neighbors, they are our friends, and we want to show them that we do care, that we love this facility and we're going to keep this facility open for them. Dr. Richard Findlay>> Well, I'm disappointed that it's not what it used to be. I suppose there is a little frustration there, but we are going to continue to develop all our patient services. It's important for this population. Hopefully, we may become a full-service hospital again. Toni Guinyard>> Hopes of one doctor who has worked in this hospital for twenty years, hopes shared by many who believe there is a future for a hospital in the Watts-Willowbrook community. Dr. Bruce Chernof>> The only real failure is if we can't deliver a hospital that meets national standards to the community and, if there isn't a private partner, we must explore all the other avenues including the county itself stepping up to reopen the facility, but you've got to walk before you run. The first step is to be there for the patients who needs us. Because if we can't do that, we can't be there for any of the other really important goals like research or education. So first things first, first steps first. Toni Guinyard>> Steps that will be taken by county officials and hospital administrators who know the public will be watching their every move. I'm Toni Guinyard for Life and Times. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> Many southern California neighborhoods are going through dramatic changes. Developers are building up and along with the rise in density are thousands of new apartments and lofts. Many urban planners call this smart growth, but many of us are wondering how smart is it really? For a look at growth and quality of life, we brought three people together at our Kitchen Table. Gail Goldberg is head of Planning for the city of Los Angeles. Bob Stern is with the Center for Governmental Studies. And kicking off our conversation is David Lehrer of CommUnity Advocates. David Lehrer>> There's been lots of focus on growth in Los Angeles even in an Op Ed in The Wall Street Journal. What seems to be going on and why is there so much attention paid to this issue now, Gail? Gail Goldberg>> Well, it's not totally clear to me that there's a lot more attention being paid to it than there has been for some time. I think people in Los Angeles are tired of the traffic. They're tired of getting stuck on the freeways. They're tired of their neighborhoods being overcrowded and not enough facilities. I think it's very frightening when people hear the growth projections, given sort of what the quality of their life is right now. Robert Stern>> People are very concerned about traffic obviously. I mean, the governor just deleting a whole bunch of money for mass transit and saying, in the county and the city, you've got to do it on your own basically. Go out and get your own financing. People are very upset. People are not going downtown at night because of the traffic and everybody's sort of changing their way. They're all concerned what's going to happen in the future? David Lehrer>> What's the problem here? Gail Goldberg>> Well, I think the problem is that we don't have really good plans that guide development. We don't have the kind of plans that can give communities any kind of assurance about what their community is going to evolve into and I think that's very problematic. Folks today, if you say that in the next twenty years, we're going to get another half million people in the city, I mean, "Where? Where are you going to put a half million people?" They have no idea where, so I think the "where" is the important discussion that we're going to have to have. David Lehrer>> Well, why haven't we had the discussion? Robert Stern>> Because people, in a sense, are selfish or maybe self-interested. We all want other people to take the bus. We all want other people to take the train. But we want to be in our car. We want to have that luxury. And the politicians are conflicted. The politicians get campaign money from developers. They believe in growth. Nobody wants to be in a city that's losing population. At the same time, there are large groups of people out there saying, "Stop. Slow growth." Gail Goldberg>> But help me understand. If you want to stop growth, you don't stop growth by stopping building. That doesn't help you. I mean, stopping growth is a whole other issue and nobody has had that discussion in this city. I mean, stopping growth? What are the components of growth? It's people living longer. It's more babies being born. It's migration either foreign or domestic. What are the things you can do to stop growth? You can shut down your economy. Robert Stern>> Yeah, I know. That's right. I think if you talk to some nimbys, not in my back yard people, they would say, "Stop the growth. We don't want any more people coming in. We don't want any more development." David Lehrer>> Well, that's not going to happen, so let's take that off the table. Acknowledging that California and Los Angeles in particular is going to be growing, how do we then accommodate to that growth in a smart way? Gail Goldberg>> That then has to become the beginning of a conversation. If we are convinced that people here get it, that the growth is going to happen whether we want it or not, then the next question is what do we do about it? Do we plan for it? Do we not plan for it? And not planning for it is, okay, stop development. Don't build the high-rises. David Lehrer>> But there's the notion that seems to be fairly popular that, even if we plan for it, the big guys come in and they'll go around the plan and get what they want anyway because they know how to work the system, the big developers and the big builders. Gail Goldberg>> I think there is absolutely that sense right now in Los Angeles. Los Angeles has a long history of having a fairly political land use environment and, what's more, we have a long history of not having great plans that guide development either for the developers or for the community members. So I think, if we're going to convince folks in this city that we should plan for growth, then we are going to have to commit to them to give them real plans and the process has got to be a good deal less political than it is now. David Lehrer>> How political is it? Robert Stern>> Oh, it's very political. Of course, each council member has his or her own fiefdom and the other council members tend to defer to that fiefdom. The question is sort of the overall plan for the city and for the area and that's not always looked at. Each city such as Santa Monica might have its own plan, Los Angeles might have its own plan, and there's not enough communication among the cities, among the council districts, to have an overall coordinated plan. But you can have all the plans in the world and people might not agree with those plans and people might just decide, you know, they're going to live out in Palmdale or they want the single family house. You can have the mayor who says, "No more single family houses." Well, try to tell that to people who have kids. They're not going to want to be stuck in apartments or condos. So there is a demand that has to be met as well and the question is that we have no land to meet the demand. Gail Goldberg>> Right, and so a lot of the growth is not going to happen, interestingly, in the city of Los Angeles over the next twenty years. It's for the very reasons that you mentioned. If folks want to have less expensive housing and if they want to have a single family house, they probably are going to have to live outside the city limits. David Lehrer>> Which only will increase traffic. Gail Goldberg>> It absolutely will. It absolutely will increase traffic. If we don't do really good plans that begin to put jobs and housing closer together, that begin to create mixed-use environments where people can walk for some of their daily needs instead of driving, and places where people can get on transit and maybe get to and from work, anyone who thinks that your goal is to have manageable traffic in your downtown doesn't understand vibrant urban environments. Every vibrant city has horrible traffic in their downtown area. So what? Robert Stern>> I guess the worst thing would be if there was no traffic. There would be no economy (laughter). Gail Goldberg>> Absolutely. But that's the problem every city wants to have, that kind of a vibrant downtown where traffic is your problem. David Lehrer>> To pull back a little bit, do you sense that the political stars are aligned now so that there can be serious planning in Los Angeles? Are the mayor and the City Council so inclined? Gail Goldberg>> If I didn't believe that, I would not be here. I honestly would not be here. I think that this city has finally reached the point where the old system, the old culture, isn't working for anyone. The developers can't afford the time it takes to figure out which political winds are blowing and what it is they can build. They need plans to direct them. The communities are desperately in need of some assurance of what's going to happen. And I think that we can say from what's happened in the eighteen months since I've been here that there is a commitment. The fact that the City Council gave the Planning Department a huge increase in our budget to do plans and to hire people to process development in a more efficient way, I think that's a commitment to the beginning of a change of a culture that sometimes -- David Lehrer>> -- as a dispassionate observer, do you agree? Robert Stern>> Well, I'm hopeful. I'm hoping that Gail is right. I'm fearful that she's not. Economy turns down, taxes go down, assessed values go down, the federal government decides it's not going to help fund transit programs anymore, and the question is going to be "Can Los Angeles sacrifice enough to do it?" Will we pay more taxes to have rapid transit? Will we pay more taxes to improve our roads? That's the real question. If we just rely on the federal government, if we just rely on other people, it won't happen. David Lehrer>> Well, on that questioning note, I want to thank you, Bob, and thank you, Gail, for joining us at the Kitchen Table. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Larry Mantle>> Welcome to FilmWeek on Life and Times. I'm Larry Mantle of 89.3 KPCC. Our first film this week undoubtedly has the record for longest title of the year. "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" stars Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck in a film written and directed by Andrew Dominik. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> I'm joined this week by critics Claudia Puig of USA Today and Lael Loewenstein of Variety. Claudia, what did you think of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"? Claudia Puig>> Well, this is a new way of a traditional shoot 'em up film. It is a wondrously contemplative and poetic saga that offers a fresh take on the time-worn genre. It's deliberately paced and it's reminiscent of Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" in some ways. That meditative style brings not only the western landscape into sharp focus, but also the inner geography of each character which is handled in a very complex way. We know the inevitable from the title, clearly, but that doesn't stop us from being intrigued every step along the way. It examines the concept of celebrity in also a very probing and intelligent way and who better to play someone that fascinates the masses than Brad Pitt? But even more impressive, I think, is Casey Affleck who, of course, is the lesser-known Affleck, but he really proves himself the talent in this film as the weasel Ford. Larry Mantle>> What did you think, Lael? Lael Loewenstein>> I couldn't have put it better myself. I thought this was a really very strong film. It's long and it's slow-going and there's not a lot of action. This is not an action-filled western, but it is kind of an interior western. You know, much of the landscape, as Claudia put it, what you see and experience is not so much about the physical landscape as it is about the psychological landscape of the western hero. Casey Affleck is tremendous. He really proves himself every inch the fine actor here. Brad Pitt won acting honors of the Venice Film Festival, but I think he should have split the award with Casey Affleck who's just terrific as this sort of cowardly, slightly slimy guy who ends up befriending James only to kill him. It's a really nice film, very well directed and also great music. I thought it was a really good soundtrack. Larry Mantle>> "Into the Wild" is based on the book by Jon Krakauer which was his telling of a real life story. Emile Hirsch stars in the film which is written and directed by actor Sean Penn. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> "Into the Wild", Lael? Lael Loewenstein>> This is a very strong film from Sean Penn who spent almost ten years trying to get the rights to this film, thinking about it, writing it in his head and then turned it into a beautiful, moving story after he was given the rights by the family of this man, Chris McCandless. It's based, of course, on the Jon Krakauer book about this guy who just goes into the wild Alaska and lives there for almost four months by himself after completing a two-year journey. There's a whole road trip element to it, lots of interesting characters that this young man meets, lots of interesting vignettes, terrific supporting work from everyone from Vince Vaughn to Catherine Keener, Kristen Stewart. It's just a beautifully shot, beautifully acted film. We should mention Eric Gautier as the cinematographer who really both evokes the sense of the landscape and the challenge that this young man faced in his life and also, again, the interior journey that he's experiencing. Really nice film. Larry Mantle>> What did you think, Claudia? Claudia Puig>> I completely agree. We're in complete agreement here. You know, the way Sean Penn handled this, you felt like this was a descendant of Thoreau. He calls himself Alexander Supertramp because McCandless does. He is a modern-day hobo, but he also is kind of a descendant of Thoreau in that sense. Wonderfully written, wonderfully directed, fantastic original songs by Eddie Vedder that really served to complement the drama. I think Emile Hirsch does an excellent job in the title role. He will look to some people like a young Leonardo diCaprio. He loses forty pounds for the role and becomes absolutely emaciated in a very frightening way. I agree about the supporting parts. Hal Holbrook is another one that I thought was really, really good. Sean Penn doesn't seem to care as much if we like him, but he wants us to understand him and I think we do. There's an additional narrative aspect, a voiceover narration, that helps us to do that. Fans of the book, I think, will be quite pleased with how faithful the retelling is. Larry Mantle>> "The Jane Austen Book Club" is adapted from a novel of the same name. Robin Swicord adapted it and directed the film which features a talented ensemble of women actors. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> "The Jane Austen Book Club", Claudia? Claudia Puig>> Well, this is a clever, if a little bit cloying, concept. Jane Austen's six novels are dissected, discussed and delighted over by six people. You can see the whole schematic here. Each one of those people has a connection or a relation in some way to one of Austen's characters. It works better on film than it did in the book, which I actually found way too schematic and formulaic. Robin Swicord, the director, I think improves upon the book mainly through her casting choices. She's chosen some excellent actors, Amy Brenneman, Jimmy Smits, Hugh Dancy, to fill out these particular roles and it becomes more emotionally effective. I think it's a strong ensemble cast. It's Austen-light, but it's pleasantly so. Larry Mantle>> All right, and they even let a man in the group (laughter). Claudia Puig>> They let a man in the group, yeah (laughter). Larry Mantle>> What did you think, Lael? Lael Loewenstein>> I think Austen-light is a good way to put it. At its worst moments, the film reminded me a bit of female bonding films in the sort of the "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" kinds of movies and that sort of thing. But at its best, you know, it's an homage to a great writer and it's a sort of clever way to update her books by mirroring the stories through these various women. You have a lot of fine actors. Emily Blunt is another one, of course, who's very, very good and her star is kind of on the rise, and Maria Bello and Amy Brenneman. You know, these women experiencing all different aspects of love and loss and misgivings and female bonding. I thought it was really pretty well done. It's a tough thing to adapt a book that's about literature to film and I think Swicord did a really nice job. Larry Mantle>> Thanks for joining us for another FilmWeek on Life and Times. I'm Larry Mantle of 89.3 KPCC joined by critics Lael Loewenstein of Variety and Claudia Puig of USA today. Please join us next week at this same time for another FilmWeek on Life and Times. Val Zavala>> For a longer version of FilmWeek, tune in to KPCC public radio Fridays at eleven a.m. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. Thanks for watching. We'll see you tomorrow. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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