Hospital Closure Emits Controversy

Long Beach will soon be losing a hospital due to seismic issues.

According to the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, Community Medical Center Long Beach sits on top of an active fault line and cannot meet the statewide legal requirements for acute care hospitals.

“We are all saddened that the findings were not more encouraging for the future of Community Medical Center Long Beach. Since the land and buildings are owned by the City of Long Beach, we will work collaboratively with the city on transition plans that focus on the needs of the community. In the meantime, we will continue operating the facility for a yet-to-be-determined period of time, providing quality and compassionate care,” said Community Medical Center CEO John Bishop.

The hospital has until June 30, 2019 to meet the seismic compliance standards, but has elected to not spend the $20 million it would take to retrofit the building.

According to a press release by Community Medical Center Long Beach, a study conducted by a third-party found that the hospital’s service area has seven acute care hospitals within a short travel distance, all with an average of 800 vacant beds that are available to patients every day. The study also determined that the need for acute inpatient care will likely decrease due to the rise in outpatient care settings, reduction in length of hospital stays and increasing population health initiatives that are meant to improve the overall management of individual patients.

The study also found that the hospital’s total number of emergency visits makes up only about 10 percent of all emergency visits in Long Beach, with over half of the visits considered low acuity and making it possible for those patients to visit other emergency rooms in the area.

Hospital administration have expressed their concerns for the closure of Community Medical Center.

Dr. Mike Vasilomanolakis has said that increased traffic has caused longer wait times in crowded emergency rooms.

“The Long Beach Fire Department is worried because if CHLB closes, their emergency units on the eastside will need to transport patients 15 to 20 minutes longer to the west side, with a roundtrip equaling 30 to 40 minutes,” he said.

According to Vasilomanolakis, the hospital has tried to justify its closure by stating that the doctors and nurses will leave and they won’t have enough staff.

“The doctors have been approached and not one is leaving. Most nurses are staying until the end and if any additional nurses are needed they can easily be supplied by the vast numbers of registry nurses which are always available,” he said.

The California Nurses Association, which represents nearly 100,000 registered nurses statewide, held a press conference on Nov. 14 to voice its opposition to the hospital’s closure. “Because Community Hospital Long Beach is part of Memorial Health System, which has recorded nearly $1 billion in profits since 2010, say nurses, it is especially egregious that the wealthy hospital system would choose closing CHLB rather than doing a seismic retrofit which it can well afford to accomplish,” said CNA in a press release.

CNA also said that nurses at CHLB were notified suddenly of the closure and are demanding transparency from the hospital in its decision-making process.

Vasilomanolakis hopes that the state will extend the deadline and, in effect, reverse the hospital’s decision to permanently close. “Remember, the hospital and emergency room are there saving lives every day. By closing them while waiting for an earthquake to happen, if it happens, will cost hundreds or perhaps thousands of lives and this all just to save a few extra lives in the hospital in case of an earthquake,” he said.

According to Community Medical Center, it is committed to its employees and will ensure a smooth transition for the community and patients.

monica@beachcomber.news