Good medicine for hospital

The announcement that South Coast Medical Center has been taken off the market is a huge relief for Laguna Beach. Adventist Health will continue to manage the hospital as a non-profit and has promised to keep it in its Coast Highway location.

The May announcement came some two months after city officials announced giddily that a buyer was in the offing and the fate of the hospital would be settled after years of uncertainty.

Apparently the hospital owner was not able to come to terms with an out-of-state holding company and South Coast Medical Center Physicians, LLC, which was reportedly seeking to acquire the facility and operate it in a for-profit mode.

That “for profit” label sent chills through many hospital advocates. The ocean-view property on which the 50-year-old hospital sits is a tempting asset for any owner to contemplate disposing of ? and that is exactly what Adventist planned to do when announcing plans two years ago to move out of Laguna Beach.

Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman ? who vowed at the time to chain herself to the hospital doors to keep it from closing ? is calling the new development “a miracle.” It’s a miracle she certainly had a hand in, as she was a key player on a council committee dedicated to keeping the hospital in place.

But there are still many questions ahead for this aging facility, which is under a state requirement to upgrade its seismic stability stemming from mandates following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Time is running out for the hospital, and estimates for retrofitting are a staggering $70 million.

And what if a new buyer steps forward with enough cash to meet Adventist’s asking price? We won’t know unless and until that happens.

The good news is that the formerly demoralized hospital has apparently turned itself around under new management and is now operating in the black. The hospital foundation is also moving forward under energetic new leadership.

As Adventist chief operating officer and hospital board chairman Robert Carmen said: “Adventist Health is committed to the continued operations of South Coast Medical Center. We know that the hospital is an important part of the Laguna Beach community.”

Everyone is pulling in the right direction, and that’s no small miracle.