Loss of Maternity Care in California.. the growing crisis

 Aug 8, 2025

A few months ago, the labor and delivery at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale closed it doors after decades of care and service. All potential patients had to travel to other hospitals.

According to Dr. John McHugh, San Diego Union-Tribune - Opinion, almost 60 California hospitals and delivery units closed since 2012.  About 1/3 were in L.A. county. One-third of remaining hospitals do not offer labor or delivery services.  The reasons for the closures at 3-times the rest of the country were inflation and insufficient reimbursement.

What surprised me was the lack of "reproductive health care funding, training and technical assistance for hospital emergency departments."  Dr. McHugh stated that the state legislators were "working to address these problems," with AB 2490, but Governor Newsom vetoed the bill.

What Dr. McHugh declined to mention, probably out of compassion, morals, career ethics, and treads a delicate political line, are the ugly political facts.

More than half the babies born, who access hospital services rendered for care, labor, and delivery, are to illegal immigrants who pay by using Medi-Cal, if they have that. Most illegal immigrants receive Medi-Cal immediately as part of the many benefits California taxpayers provide.  Many of these women had little to no prenatal health care. Their babies if born prematurely or with birth defects become long term patients in the hospitals. While it is basic morals and compassion to care for them, since they are here, there is no denying the massive numbers (up to 250,000 nationwide according to the Center for Immigration Studies) stress the Medi-Cal and hospital budgets. 

This care-load stress results in delays in appointments and denials of other healthcare needs. (I do not have the data on direct assertions from pregnant or post-natal legal citizens to provide numbers, however I was surprised to learn this was an issue.)  This care demand doesn't just affect labor and delivery care, it is spread across all specialities and general care. U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration estimates a current shortage of about 19,000 physicians. Considering that fewer than 1700 doctors graduate medical schools each year... do you see the problem?

SUV Shift Linkage Breaks at Airport... Larry's Long Trip

 Aug 7, 2025

Larry got up at 2a.m. to come to San Diego this past Thursday. His Alaska Airlines flight was supposed to leave Seattle at 6a.m. That was cancelled. He rebooked for a flight leaving 2pm. arriving at the airport at noon. After repeated delays, he, his little dog, and the plane ✈ finally went airborne after 3pm. Cujo hadn't had anything to eat all day.

I was waiting just outside baggage claim at 6pm. I asked a very nice traffic control lady how to go around the circle, so I could open spots for those picking up others. I followed her instructions and anxiously made my way around the loop back to baggage claim. Once again I waited. I noticed my gas was low, which it shouldn't have been, since Larry and I filled the tank prior to him leaving.

A quick mental memory and calculation for trips taken and gas used didn't add up. I only took Larry to the airport and went to meet my son twice, which was a few miles each way. With my 22 gallon tank, I should have had 19 gallons left. I remembered seeing the gas flap open. I snapped it shut as a fleeting thought of gas theft crossed my mind, but dismisssed the concern.

I shifted into "Park" and turned my SUV off to save fuel. The traffic control lady asked me to move forward. I turned on my SUV, but it refused to go into gear. I tried repeatedly, but it just slid back and forth without catching. 😲 It remained stuck in "Park." I quickly called to her to alert her to the problem and that I would probably need a tow truck.
Moments later Larry and Cujo arrived at my SUV, ready to go home. I broke the news that we needed a tow truck. Luckily I brought a protein drink for Larry and some beef jerky. Another lucky stoke was the tow truck came quickly, possibly because we were taking up space in front of the airport's busy loading area and couldn't move. More luck was a traffic control agent, a young man, knew what was wrong, as he was a gear-head on the side. It was minor, but it disabled the vehicle and caused a bit of a issue for the tow truck driver. They had to figure out how to get it out of "Park" to load it onto the flatbed truck. Again, the young gear-head solved the issue.
At 7:30pm we were on our way. Larry and I in the cab with the tow driver, but our dogs rode in the SUV. I can only imagine what the dogs were thinking, left alone in a car that was not only moving, but elevated! The tow truck driver, very amicable, was from Palestine. His wife and beautiful 4-year-old daughter were U.S. citizens currently living in Palestine. I was confused by that, as I wasn't certain where Palastine was. I knew Gaza and West Bank, but where was Palestine? He said she lived near Jeruselum. She was expecting her second daughter to be born in January.

Arriving home, we had to move the van and the neighbor's trash cans to put the SUV on the street.

Placing the vehicle in the parking spot was tricky, as it was stuck in reverse from the airport. We moved our van and the neighbor's trash cans to make enough space, replacing everything after the SUV was unloaded. Finally, after 8pm the doggies were freed from the SUV. ​

The cupboards were bare, as was the refrigerator that the day prior I had to dismantle, repair, clean, and reassemble, but we were home. Larry was exhausted.