Long Beach Readies Hospital Reopening

With volunteers scrubbing floors, painting walls and laying carpet for days on end, the stage is almost set for Long Beach Community Medical Center to reopen.

Almost 12 months to the day from the time its former owner, Catholic Healthcare West, decided to close it, the hospital is expected to open Monday under a new owner--the Long Beach community. It also will have a slightly different name, Community Hospital of Long Beach.

The hospital, officially owned by the city of Long Beach, has been rescued by a cadre of community volunteers. The city is leasing the building to the management, a volunteer board of directors, for $1 a year. The board raised $15 million to operate the facility, as required by the city.

The hospital, which is expected to get final approval for its reopening from the state this week, will have fewer resources and services than it did before. Whereas it once had 261 beds, it will for the time being have 107. The first 32 will be available Monday.

The hospital reopens in a tumultuous health care economy, especially in California, where most hospitals are losing money. Bette Keller, a real estate businesswoman who chairs the new board, acknowledged the challenges but said that the board has “a smart business plan” and is not providing services that could result in big losses.

President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Pugach said the hospital will start up slowly. Gone are services like the neonatal intensive care unit and cardiac surgery. What remains are the emergency room and basic medical, surgical, radiological and cancer-treatment services. But the hospital expects to bring back its old services in the near future, he said.

The staff will be smaller. On Monday, there will be 230 employees, compared with 720 before.

For now, the hospital is sorting through applications from doctors who want to be on staff. The size of the staff is expected to grow in time, said Dayle Dalton, director of human services.

Keller credited dedicated volunteers for the reopening. “We had people giving small and large donations. We also had people do maintenance, like cleaning air vents, so that we could save money.”

Every penny has been needed. When Catholic Healthcare decided to close the hospital, Keller helped form a coalition of doctors and Long Beach residents who vowed to raise enough money to save it.

Keller said the community rallied around the coalition--Save Our Neighborhood Hospital--because the hospital was desperately needed.

“Long Beach Memorial Medical Center is in west Long Beach, and St. Mary’s Medical Center is in central Long Beach,” she said. “We are as far east as you can go before crossing into Orange County. People all over Long Beach felt the pressure on the other two hospitals [when community hospital closed]. For the sake of public safety, there is a crucial need for the hospital here.”

Keller contended that Catholic Healthcare shut down the hospital because it didn’t want competition for St. Mary’s, which it also owned. Catholic Healthcare says the hospital was closed because it was losing money.

Shortly after Catholic Healthcare announced its decision, state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer launched an investigation into whether it improperly transferred assets to St. Mary’s.

That investigation is ongoing, a spokeswoman said.

Keller said Catholic Healthcare underestimated Long Beach residents. Pugach agreed.

“We asked a lot of people to help us,” Pugach said. “Without exception, every single person asked what more they could do to help.”

People like Harriet Jones, 80, a volunteer for 11 years, scrubbed and scoured the floors. Irene DeJesus and Bob Dodds, colleagues of Keller, painted walls.

“A hospital is needed in this particular area,” Jones said. “The other two hospitals are so big, and everybody has felt a sense of family here. I had emergency surgery here, and I was so impressed with everyone that I started volunteering.”