COUNTY-USC: Supervisors Vote For 600-Bed Facility

      The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 yesterday to replace County-USC Medical Center with a new 600-bed facility, "[e]nding years of indecision and acrimonious bickering." And, in a compromise with state legislators and community activists who complained that the new facility needed to have at least 750 beds, "the board cobbled together a last-second deal to add a 150-bed annex," if the patient load gets too high in the coming years, the Los Angeles Times reports. "It's not the perfect solution. There is no perfect solution. But I hope the Legislature in Sacramento will take this as an earnest attempt to solve this problem," said Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who brokered the compromise. Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Don Knabe joined Burke in support of the motion, while Supervisors Gloria Molina and Mike Antonovich cast the dissenting votes. The Times reports that yesterday's deal "succeeded in heading off" a potential "train wreck" between county officials and state lawmakers over the size of the facility. However, the Times notes that it is "unclear" if the compromise would get the "support of the coalition of Sacramento lawmakers" who are holding up $225 million in state construction funds unless a large facility is built (Meyer, 9/16). Click County-USC to read past CHL coverage of the dispute. Another article in today's Los Angeles Times reports that "patients see a need for a bigger facility" (Tobar, 9/16). Click here to read the article.