After hours-long discussions this week, the city and MemorialCare Health System have agreed to move toward a transition process that may allow Community Hospital to quickly reopen after its planned closure July 3, officials said in a statement late Friday.
MemorialCare, which said it would be too expensive to bring the East Long Beach hospital up to seismic code, is working to keep its license “in suspense,” which would allow a new company to take over if regulatory requirements are met, according to a joint statement issued by the city and MemorialCare.
“The City and MemorialCare are committed to working together to meet with applicable regulatory agencies and other stakeholder groups to work towards the transition to the new operator,” the statement said. “The City will continue to work with its chosen operator to address the seismic issues, obtain financing and secure required regulatory approvals for the transition of Community Medical Center.”
Dr. Mario Molina speaks during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Photo by Thomas Cordova.
The City Council on Tuesday agreed to begin negotiations with the new operator, Molina, Wu, Network, LLC (John Molina is part of that bid, and is also a founding partner in Pacific6, the parent company of the Long Beach Post).
“We are glad that Memorial has decided to help,” Dr. Mario Molina, who is part of the new group seeking to run Community Hospital, said in a message late Friday. “We stand ready to proceed.”
If MemorialCare had allowed its license to lapse, reopening Community would have taken more time and money, as the new operator would have to bring the 94-year-old facility up to 2018 standards.
Though the hospital will likely still close, city officials said Friday’s developments were overall positive.
“Memorial is definitely working with us to provide a smooth transition,” City Manager Pat West said in an interview late Friday.
The council meeting earlier this week had been contentious after pointed comments were made by city officials and the CEO of Community Hospital, John Bishop, with the two sides at times trading blame over the hospital’s impending closure.
But on Friday, Councilman Daryl Supernaw’s office sent out a message saying discussions between the city and Memorial appeared to be positive and headed for a “concrete breakthrough.”
A vocal and active group of Community employees, union officials and residents have been urging officials to find a solution for months, as the hospital houses the only emergency room in East Long Beach.
MemorialCare, which has operated Community Hospital since 2011, announced in November that it would shutter acute care services at the facility due to the discovery of an active seismic fault beneath the hospital.
The state requires hospitals to upgrade facilities that house patients, and Community had been given a deadline of June 2019 to get into compliance with seismic code.
In April, the city was caught off guard when MemorialCare announced it would close the hospital almost a year earlier than expected, in early July, because of staff departures. That announcement set off a scramble to find a new operator, along with several meetings among county and city leaders.
This week, the city, which owns the land and facility, and MemorialCare contested whether the health system has done all it could to keep the hospital open, and whether MemorialCare was acting in good faith to help with the transition to a new operator.
In an interview with the Post on Tuesday night, John Bishop, the CEO of Community, said there wasn’t enough time to keep the hospital open during a transition.
The Molina group plans to keep Community open with a smaller footprint, including about 40 beds and an emergency room.
Molina, who previously served as the CEO of Molina Healthcare, went on to form a new company called Golden Shore Medical, which runs a collection of 17 clinics across the state. The Molinas are partnering with a company called AHMC, which runs seven hospitals in the San Gabriel Valley, and a physician management group.
The city is looking to give the new operator a 40-year lease of the property and hospital, which it owns, for $1 a year — similar to its agreement with MemorialCare.
Staff writer Tim Grobaty contributed to this report.