The April 14, 2020 agendizing memo acknowledged that Community Hospital's for-profit operator ("Molina/Wu/Network" LLC) was technically supposed to pay for the repairs of that type under the terms of its lease with the City.

The April 2020 agendizing memo acknowledged there was no commitment or plan in place to reimburse LB taxpayers for the $250,000 sum...and the Council voted without dissent to approve the transaction. Three months later, a statement by city management indicates there remains no commitment or plan in place to reimburse LB taxpayers for the quarter million sum advanced.

The bottom line: What was done with a quarter million dollars in LB taxpayers' money isn't what LB taxpayers were told would be done.

The April 2020 agendizing memo acknowledged that under the Oct. 2019 lease between the City and MWN, repairs of the type being undertaken (elevator repairs) were technically the responsibility of the lessee (MWN), not LB taxpayers. It said the $250,000 sum wasn't associated with future use of the facility as an acute care hospital. It said the quarter million dollar sum was solely meant to make the facility available as a COVID-19 patient transfer facility.

[Scroll down for further.]

A little less than three months later, in response to a request by LBREPORT.com for an update on Community Hospital's status, MWN spokesman Brandon Dowling stated in a July 6 email:

We are still working with CDPH [CA Dept. of Public Health] to secure the hospital’s license (as an acute care facility). It’s a bit out of our hands as we wait for them to confirm a date for the final site inspection. We’re hopeful that this will happen within the next few weeks so that Community can re-open and join the region’s hospital infrastructure.

the bottom line: For reasons that remain publicly unclear, Community Hospital wasn't licensed to reopen as a COVID-19 patient transfer capacity. And for reasons likewise unclear, Community Hospital hasn't (yet) been licensed to reopen as an acute care facility.

Sponsor

Sponsor

On July 13, LBREPORT.com sought clarification from city staff on (a) what changed between mid-April and mid-July and (b) the status of reimbursement for taxpayers of all or part of the $250,000 sum.

On July 17, the City's Director of Economic Development, John Keisler, told LBREPORT.com via email:

[Keisler July 17 email] (a) what changed between April and July? It is our understanding that the anticipated surge in hospital visits related to COVID-19 did not materialize, and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) no longer required the use of Community Hospital for patient transfers.

(b) the status of reimbursement of all or part of the $250,000 city-advanced sum by the state or other sources. As stated in the City Council Letter [agedndizg memo] "The City would be making these repairs effectively as an advance to MWN with the understanding that MWN and the City will work together to secure reimbursement to the City for these costs from the State or other sources. However, there is no assurance of reimbursement." In its 45-year agreement with MWN, the City has agreed to share up to $50 million in construction costs related to the seismic retrofit of the facility. The City may request reimbursement or credit for the elevators as part of this agreement or other sources.

Sponsor

Sponsor

In an April 8 press release on LB-area hospital capacity, the City stated in pertinent part:

...The City of Long Beach continues to work with MWN and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to re-open Community Hospital. All local requirements have been satisfied and MWN is awaiting licensing and certification from CDPH...

For the past two weeks, Community Hospital staff, at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request, has worked with the City and the State to prepare the hospital to provide additional beds and resources in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The hospital has worked in partnership with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to prepare the hospital for licensure. As of the CDPH’s last visit on April 4, hospital officials are expecting the contract and license will be approved within the next few days. Once these are approved, Community Hospital will join other area hospitals on the frontline of caring for residents and the community.

Eleven intensive-care units and 25 med-surgical beds at the facility are ready for patients, and the hospital is aggressively expanding its capacity to ready other units to meet expected needs. The State has also identified that certain patients in skilled nursing facilities are in critical need of being transferred to hospitals; Community Hospital is working to accept some of those patients in Long Beach..

Sponsor

In an April 14, 2020 agendizing memo describing the $250,000 advance for repairs for Community Hospital's operator, Councilman Daryl Supernaw wrote in pertinent part:

....The City will...perform the required repairs through a City contract even though it is technically the responsibility of MWN. The repairs are not associated with future use of the Hospital as an acute care hospital and are solely to provide funds to MWN in making the Community Hospital available as a COVID-19 patient transfer center to better protect regional health and safety. The City would be making these repairs effectively as an advance to MWN with the understanding that MWN and the City will work together to secure reimbursement to the City for these costs from the State or other sources. However, there is no assurance of reimbursement.

During April 14, 2020 Council discussion, Councilmembers thanked Councilman Supernaw for allocating the $250,000 from his 4th district office budget for the expenditure (LBREPORT.com coverage here) but the sum is ultimately citywide taxpayer money. The Council's April 14 voted action authorized spending it as an advance to MWN to enable the Community Hospital elevator repairs.

No Councilmember raised the issue of reimbursement to LB taxpayers from MWN at the time...and three months later there is no commitment or plan in place for that reimbursement.

An April 8 city release described MWN as "a partnership between Pacific6 Enterprises, co-founded by former Molina Healthcare CEO John Molina; AHMC Healthcare, a privately held hospital corporation founded by Jonathan Wu; and Network Medical Management, which provides administrative support to medical groups and physicians."

To hear the Council's April 14 discussion that approved the $250,000 spending item, click here.

Sponsor

Sponsor

Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.