On the heels of newly elected Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ pleas to restore Martin Luther King Hospital, Councilmember Daniel Tabor is working to restore a healthcare facility in Inglewood.

Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital was closed last year and will reportedly be sold and transformed into a housing development. A little more than a year ago, the Inglewood City Council passed a moratorium, at Tabor’s request, to preserve the former hospital site for healthcare delivery to residents in Inglewood and South Los Angeles.

“Now that King is closed, there are no trauma or emergency services in the area. Folks have to travel to Torrance or downtown L.A,” Tabor said. “We have partnered with Drew MedicalUniversity, and got a grant with the California Endowment and have brought on a consultant to move forward and develop a sustainable model for a new healthcare center,” Tabor said.

The joint effort to bring a health facility to Inglewood is shared by the Inglewood City Council, Drew Medical University, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Assemblymember Curren Price, Sen. Rod Wright, Community Health Councils, various health care providers, insurance
companies and other stake holders.

With financial as well as community support, Tabor wanted to renew the one-year moratorium against the use of the site for non-healthcare purposes. Like many communities with a large African American population, Inglewood has a disproportionately high rate of chronic illness such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease and cancer.

However, the council did not support a new moratorium after the old one lapsed. The property owners have sued the city, saying the old moratorium was illegal because there was a 5-day lapse between the expiration of the old one and the beginning date of the proposed new one.

According to Tabor, property owners are hoping to sell the site to First Church of God in Inglewood. It’s not a bad idea, he said.

“There are examples of hospitals and medical facilities which are owned by churches. Little Co. of Mary and Queen of Angels, for example. If it is owned by a church, [as a nonprofit] they don’t have to worry so much about the mortgage. They can charge the cost of the services.”

The councilmember expects to have the business plan for the new facility completed by the spring.