Hawthorne Hospital Closing; to Become Psychiatric Facility

Hawthorne Hospital opened 33 years ago as a community hospital serving a growing population. On Friday, it is closing for four months to be converted into a psychiatric facility.

The hospital, one of the smallest in the area with only 73 beds, was not able to compete with larger facilities that offer a wider array of medical services, said Hawthorne Hospital administrator Marc Furstman.

The hospital is planning to have its state license merged with Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles to house the center’s extra psychiatric patients. Both Hawthorne Hospital and Los Angeles Metropolitan are owned by Pacific Health Corp.

The hospital, whose occupancy rate has fluctuated between 14% and 30%, does not have an emergency room or pediatric and obstetric departments. Consequently, it was unable to compete with larger hospitals in the area such as Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center, also in Hawthorne, or Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance.

“Currently, the health care environment is very difficult,” Furstman said.

When the psychiatric facility opens at the end of July, it will have 43 beds, an occupational therapy room, recreational therapy room and dining room. A second phase will add 17 to 27 beds.

Furstman said the hospital may have to lay off 40 employees.