Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hospital leaders outline plan for 14‑bed replacement hospital, new services and funding
Summary
Hospital representatives told the City Council that Measure B awards, an LA Care grant and other funding would support a planned 14‑bed replacement hospital with private rooms, infusion therapy and outpatient operating rooms; staff also flagged pharmacy scheduling and payer-contract negotiations.
Tim Kopinski briefed the council on hospital operations and a multi-part plan to expand local health services and build a replacement facility.
"What you're about to see is more than a building. It's a once in a generation opportunity to shape health care on this island," Kopinski told the council, outlining design features that include 14 private beds (up from 12 current beds), infusion therapy, outpatient operating rooms and a larger primary-care clinic. He said the hospital currently has 37 people on a long‑term‑care waiting list.
Kopinski said the hospital has begun to receive Measure B funding and other awards: the county supervisors approved two $3,000,000 awards earmarked for community inpatient health (CIH) for 2026 and 2027, and a $2,000,000 grant from LA Care has been received. He added that a CT machine application was approved by Supervisor Hahn and still requires state DHS and legal review to confirm it is an authorized Measure B purchase.
Kopinski also described operational changes and capacity gains: after adding a hospitalist in April, patient-bed days rose (he contrasted about 50 bed days in June last year with 280 this past June), allowing the hospital to treat patients locally who previously would have been medevaced. He warned that, because of staffing adjustments, the hospital's pharmacy will stop filling refills and new prescriptions on Saturdays beginning Oct. 4, 2025, and that ER clinicians will have an emergency cabinet to issue up to three days of medication when needed.
The presentation also addressed payer‑contract renegotiations intended to increase in‑network coverage (Kopinski cited TriWest and Providence as already approved in some products and said Blue Shield negotiations were close). Kopinski said the hospital is finalizing SEQUEL reports and environmental work for a proposed replacement‑hospital site and anticipates public comment and Planning Commission review in early 2026 if approvals proceed.
The council did not take a final action on the replacement project at the meeting; Kopinski said more detailed design materials will be shared with stakeholders before being brought back to council for formal review.
