Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn is touting a financial lifeline tossed to Catalina Island Health in the nick of time. The LA Care Board of Governors has voted to award a crucial $2 million grant to keep the island's hospital open until at least December. This comes as the facility faced the very real prospect of shuttering its doors due to dire financial straits, with predictions of insolvency by June.
The closure of Avalon Hospital would not just have been a blow to the nearly 4,000 residents of Catalina Island, but also to the millions of tourists who visit the scenic locale annually. "This small hospital not only provides essential healthcare for island residents, it is the only source of emergency care on the island for millions of tourists," Hahn said in a statement obtained by government sources. Hahn emphasized the catastrophic impact the shutdown would have borne on the community and praised the swift action taken to prevent it.
The island's healthcare facility, serving as the lone provider of emergency, primary, and essential medical services, had been on the financial brink. The grant is seen as a short-term fix to urgently allow to keep the hospital's operations running. Supervisor Hahn, who represents Catalina Island on the Board of Supervisors, acknowledged the urgency of finding a longer-term solution to ensure the hospital's viability in the future.
In her accolades, Hahn didn't fail to acknowledge LA Care's role, especially that of CEO John Baackes and her colleague Supervisor Hilda Solis, for their leadership in securing the funds. "I want to thank LA Care CEO John Baackes for his leadership in this effort and I applaud the LA Care Board of Governors, especially my colleague Supervisor Hilda Solis, for coming to Catalina Island Health’s aid and making sure their doors remain open for patients," articulated Hahn, as per the announcement. The grant is a stopgap, but the search for a more permanent financial antidote continues.
