LOS ANGELES (AP) - The oldest hospital in Los Angeles has shut down and laid off all its employees after more than 150 years.
The Los Angeles Times reports Monday that Pacific Alliance Medical Center - better known as the French Hospital - quietly closed its doors Nov. 30. Its lease expired days later and all 638 employees were let go.
For decades the hospital served the Chinatown community and the closure sent shock waves through the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
Residents say the shutdown leaves residents without an important option for health care.
A representative says the hospital, established in 1860, chose not to renew its lease because state law requires $100 million of earthquake renovations. The hospital says the investment would be impractical because it doesn’t own the land the facility sits on.
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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/
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