A report by the county’s Emergency Medical Services Agency released this week details the impacts the closure of Community Medical Center Long Beach would have on the community, including longer travel times to reach emergency services.
The report was requested by County Supervisor Janice Hahn who, along with other local leaders and community members, expressed concerns over the effects the hospital’s closure would have on the community.
As Closure Looms, City Works Toward Long-Term Solution For Community Hospital
The Impact Evaluation Report was written based on information from a community hearing held April 11 in Long Beach on the proposed closure.
“This report confirms what we have been worried about since the beginning,” Hahn said in a statement. “Closing Community Medical Center will hurt Long Beach and Signal Hill residents’ access to medical care in emergencies and put a strain on the entire county’s emergency services system.”
https://lbpost.com/life/health/community-hospital-long-beach-to-cease-operations-by-2019-following-discovery-of-large-active-fault-line/
The hospital was originally slated to close by 2019 following the discovery of a large, active fault line on its campus grounds, but an exodus of staff resulted in officials announcing its closure by this summer.
According to the report, the closure of the hospital would result in:
- Longer travel times to reach emergency services
- Longer out-of-service times for EMS personnel engaged in patient transports to more distant hospitals resulting in possible delays in emergency services.
- Loss of geographic availability of basic emergency department services for residents of east Long Beach, Signal Hill, and northwest Seal Beach.
- Longer wait times for patients experiencing non-life-threatening illness or injury in emergency departments of surrounding hospitals.
- Loss of 30 critical care beds.
- Loss of 28 psychiatric beds.
- Relocation of only Sexual Assault Response Team in Long Beach, which currently operates out of Community Medical Center Long Beach.
The full report will be presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, May 1.