North Hollywood Medical Center

One San Fernando Valley hospital will close, and the owners of another are considering shutting down, pushed by new earthquake repair laws and continued changes in the health-care system. North Hollywood Medical Center--which employs 250 people and runs a full-time emergency room--will close, its for-profit owner, Tenet HealthSystem, announced Thursday.

The closure of a North Hollywood hospital and possible shutdown of a second medical center nearby will lengthen ambulance rides by at least three to five minutes for some patients and increase pressure on emergency rooms at other hospitals in the Valley, county emergency officials said Friday. The prediction comes a day after North Hollywood Medical Center announced it would shut its doors in August, closing an emergency room that currently handles about 450 ambulance patients every month.

A North Hollywood man died this morning after shooting and wounding a woman he lived with and then turning the gun on himself, Los Angeles police said. Jerome Ceasar, 43, died at Holy Cross Medical Center at 5:40 a.m., about two hours after the shooting in his apartment in the 11500 block of Magnolia Boulevard, Detective Ray Hernandez said. Police said Ceasar and a 28-year-old roommate were arguing about their relationship when Ceasar shot the woman in the arm.

One San Fernando Valley hospital will close, and the owners of another are considering shutting down, pushed by new earthquake repair laws and continued changes in the health-care system. North Hollywood Medical Center--which employs 250 people and runs a full-time emergency room--will close, its for-profit owner, Tenet HealthSystem, announced Thursday.

A woman riding a bicycle in a North Hollywood crosswalk was struck and killed by a pickup truck Saturday night, Los Angeles police reported. The identity of the woman, who was about 50, remained unknown Sunday because she was carrying no identification at the time of the accident, police said. Witnesses said the woman entered a crosswalk at Burbank Boulevard and Rhodes Avenue shortly after 7 p.m. They told police that she seemed wobbly and uncertain on her bike.

A fiery two-car accident in a northbound lane of the Hollywood Freeway on Wednesday morning hospitalized four people, including two in critical condition, and tied up traffic for about two hours. The accident occurred about 9:45 a.m. just north of Magnolia Boulevard when the hood of a Nissan, carrying two men and a woman, popped open, causing the driver to stop in the fast lane, said CHP Sgt. Jerry Sawasaki. "It completely blocked his view of the roadway," Sawasaki said.

A Glendale man was killed and two others were seriously injured when his car crashed into a car making a left turn into a driveway, authorities said Friday. Eric Nikoian, 25, died Thursday at the scene of the 9:50 p.m. accident in the 6700 block of Whitsett Avenue in North Hollywood, authorities said.

A broken copper pipe sent a stream of water flowing into the basement of the North Hollywood Medical Center on Wednesday, forcing a temporary halt to surgical procedures and the closure of the emergency room, officials said. The 1-inch pipe broke about 10:45 a.m., "creating a flood in our basement where the [operating room] and emergency room suites are housed," said hospital spokeswoman Frankie Dworsky.

An innovative program to train family practice doctors has forged a relationship between one of the most prominent medical schools on the West Coast and a San Fernando Valley hospital. The USC University Hospital/North Hollywood Medical Center Family Practice Residency Program will bring eight residents to the Valley hospital in its first year, as well as to the tiny Avalon Community Hospital on Catalina Island. "Traditionally, residency programs are based in only one hospital," said Dr.

The closure of a North Hollywood hospital and possible shutdown of a second medical center nearby will lengthen ambulance rides by at least three to five minutes for some patients and increase pressure on emergency rooms at other hospitals in the Valley, county emergency officials said Friday. The prediction comes a day after North Hollywood Medical Center announced it would shut its doors in August, closing an emergency room that currently handles about 450 ambulance patients every month.

A fiery two-car accident in a northbound lane of the Hollywood Freeway on Wednesday morning hospitalized four people, including two in critical condition, and tied up traffic for about two hours. The accident occurred about 9:45 a.m. just north of Magnolia Boulevard when the hood of a Nissan, carrying two men and a woman, popped open, causing the driver to stop in the fast lane, said CHP Sgt. Jerry Sawasaki. "It completely blocked his view of the roadway," Sawasaki said.

A broken copper pipe sent a stream of water flowing into the basement of the North Hollywood Medical Center on Wednesday, forcing a temporary halt to surgical procedures and the closure of the emergency room, officials said. The 1-inch pipe broke about 10:45 a.m., "creating a flood in our basement where the [operating room] and emergency room suites are housed," said hospital spokeswoman Frankie Dworsky.

An innovative program to train family practice doctors has forged a relationship between one of the most prominent medical schools on the West Coast and a San Fernando Valley hospital. The USC University Hospital/North Hollywood Medical Center Family Practice Residency Program will bring eight residents to the Valley hospital in its first year, as well as to the tiny Avalon Community Hospital on Catalina Island. "Traditionally, residency programs are based in only one hospital," said Dr.

A Glendale man was killed and two others were seriously injured when his car crashed into a car making a left turn into a driveway, authorities said Friday. Eric Nikoian, 25, died Thursday at the scene of the 9:50 p.m. accident in the 6700 block of Whitsett Avenue in North Hollywood, authorities said.

A North Hollywood man died this morning after shooting and wounding a woman he lived with and then turning the gun on himself, Los Angeles police said. Jerome Ceasar, 43, died at Holy Cross Medical Center at 5:40 a.m., about two hours after the shooting in his apartment in the 11500 block of Magnolia Boulevard, Detective Ray Hernandez said. Police said Ceasar and a 28-year-old roommate were arguing about their relationship when Ceasar shot the woman in the arm.

A woman riding a bicycle in a North Hollywood crosswalk was struck and killed by a pickup truck Saturday night, Los Angeles police reported. The identity of the woman, who was about 50, remained unknown Sunday because she was carrying no identification at the time of the accident, police said. Witnesses said the woman entered a crosswalk at Burbank Boulevard and Rhodes Avenue shortly after 7 p.m. They told police that she seemed wobbly and uncertain on her bike.

Seven people suffered minor injuries Tuesday afternoon when a car ran into a bus bench in North Hollywood, authorities said. The accident occurred in the 5300 block of Tujunga Avenue near Chandler Boulevard about 3:15 p.m., said Pat Marek, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Five people were treated at North Hollywood Medical Center and later released, nursing supervisor Joan Cole said. The cause of the accident was under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Astray bullet fired at a North Hollywood party to celebrate the New Year early Tuesday struck a teen-ager in the arm, Los Angeles police said. "A shot was fired into the ground, it ricocheted and hit the victim," Sgt. Margie Reid said. The teen-ager, whose name was withheld, was treated at North Hollywood Medical Center and released. Police arrested Angel Zamora, 20, of North Hollywood on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Reid said.