Moving day finally comes at County-USC

Staffers began moving patients today from the old Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center to its new home nearby. The two-day move began at 7 a.m., when the first patients were transported by ambulance to the new facility. About 400 patients were scheduled to be transferred during the two days.

The hospital, about two miles east of downtown Los Angeles, began diverting ambulance traffic from its emergency room to neighboring hospitals, including White Memorial Medical Center in Boyle Heights and California Hospital downtown. County-USC continues to accept emergency patients who walk into the emergency room.

Officials advised the public to think twice about going to County-USC or neighboring hospitals today and Saturday except in an emergency, saying lines would be longer than usual. Most of the outpatient clinics are closed today.

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-- Rong-Gong Lin II

Photo: Los Angeles Times