The hospital reported a threatening anonymous call that said there was a bomb outside and officers from the Culver City Police Department responded to secure the 3800 block of Delmas Terrace.
Hospital staff activated safety protocols and an explosives detection dog and handler from the Manhattan Beach Police Department assisted the search, which closed a portion of Delmas Terrace as a precaution.
No explosive device or suspicious package was located and the Culver City Police Department said the report is being investigated as a false call commonly referred to as swatting, a felony in California.
Chief Nursing Officer Marie Aragon thanked responding agencies, saying the hospital is grateful for their swift, professional and coordinated response and for their ongoing support to the community.
Union Plans Open Ended Strike And Raises Housing Demands
AFSCME Local 3299, which represents about 42,000 medical center and campus workers, announced an open ended strike to press the University of California for higher pay and housing assistance.
Union leaders including executive vice president Kathryn Lybarger and president Michael Avant said members range from custodians and food service workers to respiratory therapists, and that many cannot afford housing near their workplaces.
The union said members earn an average of about $62,000 a year and that low wages force some staff to use homeless shelters, public housing, sleep in cars, or endure very long commutes.
AFSCME 3299 is demanding down payment housing assistance and has filed unfair labor practice complaints, saying UC imposed conditions never agreed to by the union.
UC officials said they were disappointed by the announced open ended strike and said they believed they had made progress at the bargaining table, increasing multi year raises from 25 percent to 32.3 percent.
The union plans to gather signatures for a ballot measure to create a down payment assistance program, and cited a Legislative Analyst Office study that estimated initial costs at about $30 million a year.
The union also noted UC provided 300 home loans totaling $296 million in 2023, with an average loan around $1 million and loans covering about 90 percent of the home price, as reported by the Legislative Analyst Office.
AFSCME 3299 said it will exempt critical care workers from the action, will give the hospital system time to prepare contingency plans, and said past short strikes have not produced a full contract agreement.
