LOS ANGELES

The University of California is considering undertaking the monumental task of re-opening an inner-city public hospital that was largely shut down after years of negligence and patient deaths.

Built to serve the poor and minorities in the wake of the 1965 Watts riots, Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital in South Los Angeles has provided only outpatient services since August 2007.

In the face of dire community need, the state's public university system met with local administrators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday and agreed to consider a county proposal to open the facility, which is derisively known as ``Killer King.''

``The University of California has shown an interest in working with the county and other health care partners to address the health care needs of this community,'' Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

University of California Provost Wyatt Hume said quality of care, financial and legal issues must be considered before the school makes any decision.

``We stand ready to continue to lend our expertise and analytical support to the decision-making process concerning the hospital's future,'' Hume, who is also executive vice president for academic and health affairs, said.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which governs the hospital, will send their proposal outlining the facility's finances and needs to the UC before the week's end, said Supervisor Yvonne Burke, whose district includes the hospital.

Burke and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky met with Hume and Schwarzenegger, and said she's confident the UC will respond within a week of receiving the proposal.

King-Harbor never faced financial problems until lapses in care caused the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to revoke $200 million in federal funding for the hospital last summer, Burke said.

Since then, King-Harbor has flooded other local emergency rooms with patients. About 50,000 patients received acute care at King-Harbor in the last year it operated an emergency room.