Officials with Providence Mission Hospital are reexamining what programs and services its Laguna Beach-based hospital will provide in the community.
A Providence representative said the hospital system, which has campuses in Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach and plans for more facilities, will “dedicate considerable time” this year looking at the services offered at both hospitals.
“Our goal is to continue to enhance health care across South Orange County,” said Carrie Miller, the hospital’s spokesperson. “We are in the very early stages of gathering the data that will inform our decisions. We will continue to provide exceptional care to our South Orange County communities.”
It was residents – hearing from others in the community about potential changes and the closure of the Laguna Beach hospital’s outpatient laboratory service, which Miller said was a result of staffing shortages – who recently raised questions about what might be in the works and urged the City Council to step in to see what it could do to ensure hospital services are maintained in town.
“The past City Council have vigorously defended keeping the hospital local,” Anne Caenn, president of Village Laguna, told councilmembers, worried closure of the emergency room or nearby office buildings of doctors could be next. “We need to get you involved immediately so we don’t lose it.”
Mayor Bob Whalen, who is the council’s liaison to the hospital, said he’s been told by Seth Teigen, Providence Mission Hospital’s CEO, there would be changes at the hospital.
“He did not use the word ‘closure,’” Whalen said, adding Teigen told him hospital officials will be transparent about any considered changes and plan a public presentation at a council meeting in a few months.
Whalen said Teigen told him it would cost “north of $300 million” to renovate the more than 60-year-old hospital’s tower, which years ago was marked for retrofitting by 2030 to comply…
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