With mounting financial strain and patient numbers well-below expectations, Community Hospital Long Beach will phase out its emergency department and acute medical services in favor of increased wellness and mental health offerings, operator MWN Community Hospital announced, as reported by the Long Beach Post.
The move lets MWN — and the city — avoid paying tens of millions of dollars for seismic repairs at the property, a burden that prompted the previous operator, MemorialCare, to abandon the facility. But it also means losing the emergency department that residents and local politicians fiercely campaigned to reinstate. Read more.