A Community Hospital supporter holds his sign before the start of a hearing about a new operator for Community Hospital during the city council meeting in Long Beach June 19, 2018. (Staff Photo by Thomas R Cordova)
Three years ago, a few minutes after midnight on my birthday, I was in the backyard writhing in pain on the grass and begging the merciful baby Jesus to call me home or, failing that, for my wife to take me to Community Medical Center. I’ll spare you the details, but you really have to believe me when I urge you to not get kidney stones.
I have already expressed my affinity for Community, and won’t go on about it again in my slavering, loving detail.
One thing that could smudge my heretofore unblemished reputation: I am happy that Mario and John Molina are involved with the effort to save Community Medical Center. That’s potentially damaging because John Molina is similarly involved with saving local journalism by acquiring the Long Beach Post, for which I started writing this week.
That’s a fact that has some people in the community accusing me and the Post’s other journalists of being in Molina’s pocket and doing his bidding.
If Molina’s bidding is saving Community Hospital, then, OK, I have blundered into doing his bidding, but it’s just a happy coincidence that I believe that both Community Hospital and hyperlocal news coverage are things worth preserving in our city. And I cannot stress enough that John has not attempted to steer the editorial direction of the Post’s coverage of Community Hospital. He hasn’t poked his head into the newsroom to make sure we “do it right, if you catch my drift.”
The people of Long Beach tend to agree that Community Hospital needs to be kept, even as a smaller version of its former self.
I don’t think anyone could be happy or satisfied with the fact that, when the subject of saving the hospital was discussed at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, John Bishop, CEO of both Memorial and Community medical centers, didn’t even show to up face the council and more than a dozen public commenters, 100 percent of whom were in favor of saving Community Hospital.
In a statement to the Post Wednesday afternoon, Bishop said, “The approvals being sought from the City Council did not include MemorialCare, therefore we were not invited to attend and we did not have a role in the meeting.”
Bishop has already made it clear that there will be no further effort to keep Community open and that its demise is a done deal.
“It was an intense meeting,” Councilman Daryl Supernaw, whose 4th District includes Community Hospital, told me Wednesday. “We’ve worked so hard on this. We’ve taken away every obstacle that Bishop has thrown up and eliminated every possible argument against keeping Community open. I know it’s a cliche, but the ball’s in their court now.”
Regarding the Molinas’ involvement in the effort, Supernaw said, “I like Long Beach, and I like Long Beach people like the Molinas. They know exactly what’s needed. Their bid was head and shoulders above the others.
“The thing that’s so hard to accept is that it was so possible for Memorial to say yes and it’s very difficult to understand why they say no.”
Former L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe had been instrumental in the resuscitation of Community Hospital in 2001, and has been following the current flap.
“I thought it was very arrogant, very in-your-face of John Bishop to not attend the meeting on Tuesday,” he said Wednesday.
“I feel that Memorial should do the right thing and make it a smooth transition” from Memorial to the new owners, Knabe said.
“I think Memorial Medical Center is a great hospital and I think it’s been a great asset to the community, but this has tarnished its image. It’s a great opportunity for them to do the right thing and put the polish back on the apple.”
It’s unclear what MemorialCare’s next move will be, but Community Hospital is expected to close its emergency room Monday, June 25, and the entire hospital on on July 3.
So If you’re planning on disregarding our advice about kidney stones, you’ve got a couple of days and a weekend to get going, or you’ll to have to go elsewhere for relief, and I can’t guarantee you’ll get the same speed and quality of service that I’ve enjoyed at Community.
Tim Grobaty is a columnist and the Opinions Editor for the Long Beach Post. You can reach him at 562-714-2116, email [email protected], @grobaty on Twitter and Grobaty on Facebook.
After ‘intense’ meeting, MemorialCare needs to do the right thing
Three years ago, a few minutes after midnight on my birthday, I was in the backyard writhing in pain on the grass and begging the merciful baby Jesus to call me home or, failing that, for my wife to take me to Community Medical Center. I’ll spare you the details, but you really have to believe me when I urge you to not get kidney stones.
I have already expressed my affinity for Community, and won’t go on about it again in my slavering, loving detail.
One thing that could smudge my heretofore unblemished reputation: I am happy that Mario and John Molina are involved with the effort to save Community Medical Center. That’s potentially damaging because John Molina is similarly involved with saving local journalism by acquiring the Long Beach Post, for which I started writing this week.
That’s a fact that has some people in the community accusing me and the Post’s other journalists of being in Molina’s pocket and doing his bidding.
If Molina’s bidding is saving Community Hospital, then, OK, I have blundered into doing his bidding, but it’s just a happy coincidence that I believe that both Community Hospital and hyperlocal news coverage are things worth preserving in our city. And I cannot stress enough that John has not attempted to steer the editorial direction of the Post’s coverage of Community Hospital. He hasn’t poked his head into the newsroom to make sure we “do it right, if you catch my drift.”
The people of Long Beach tend to agree that Community Hospital needs to be kept, even as a smaller version of its former self.
I don’t think anyone could be happy or satisfied with the fact that, when the subject of saving the hospital was discussed at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, John Bishop, CEO of both Memorial and Community medical centers, didn’t even show to up face the council and more than a dozen public commenters, 100 percent of whom were in favor of saving Community Hospital.
In a statement to the Post Wednesday afternoon, Bishop said, “The approvals being sought from the City Council did not include MemorialCare, therefore we were not invited to attend and we did not have a role in the meeting.”
Bishop has already made it clear that there will be no further effort to keep Community open and that its demise is a done deal.
“It was an intense meeting,” Councilman Daryl Supernaw, whose 4th District includes Community Hospital, told me Wednesday. “We’ve worked so hard on this. We’ve taken away every obstacle that Bishop has thrown up and eliminated every possible argument against keeping Community open. I know it’s a cliche, but the ball’s in their court now.”
Regarding the Molinas’ involvement in the effort, Supernaw said, “I like Long Beach, and I like Long Beach people like the Molinas. They know exactly what’s needed. Their bid was head and shoulders above the others.
“The thing that’s so hard to accept is that it was so possible for Memorial to say yes and it’s very difficult to understand why they say no.”
Former L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe had been instrumental in the resuscitation of Community Hospital in 2001, and has been following the current flap.
“I thought it was very arrogant, very in-your-face of John Bishop to not attend the meeting on Tuesday,” he said Wednesday.
“I feel that Memorial should do the right thing and make it a smooth transition” from Memorial to the new owners, Knabe said.
“I think Memorial Medical Center is a great hospital and I think it’s been a great asset to the community, but this has tarnished its image. It’s a great opportunity for them to do the right thing and put the polish back on the apple.”
It’s unclear what MemorialCare’s next move will be, but Community Hospital is expected to close its emergency room Monday, June 25, and the entire hospital on on July 3.
So If you’re planning on disregarding our advice about kidney stones, you’ve got a couple of days and a weekend to get going, or you’ll to have to go elsewhere for relief, and I can’t guarantee you’ll get the same speed and quality of service that I’ve enjoyed at Community.
Tim Grobaty
Tim Grobaty is a columnist and the Opinions Editor for the Long Beach Post. You can reach him at 562-714-2116, email [email protected], @grobaty on Twitter and Grobaty on Facebook.
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