St. Vincent Medical Center (SVMC) is a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

in the Westlake neighborhood of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, United States. Started by the Daughters of Charity in 1856, the hospital closed on January 24, 2020, due to the bankruptcy of

Verity Health System Verity Health System (formerly Daughters of Charity Health System, or DCHS) was a healthcare organization based in Redwood City, California, United States, that operated six hospitals across California with approximately 8,000 associates and phys ...

. The hospital reopened on April 13, 2020, as the Los Angeles Surge Hospital through a partnership with

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser P ...

and

Dignity Health Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) was a California-based not-for-profit public-benefit corporation that operates hospitals and ancillary care facilities in three states. Dignity Health was the fifth-largest hospital system in th ...

. The State of California is temporarily leasing the hospital as a treatment center for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

History

The Daughters of Charity came to Los Angeles on January 6, 1856. This group of six women included three Spanish and three American women. Their initial goal was to start an orphanage and school for the local community. After the county officials recognized the talent of a sister as a nurse, they proposed the idea of them opening an infirmary instead. This would promote a better health system in the community. As a result of their acceptance, the Los Angeles Infirmary was created on June 21, 1869. St. Vincent Medical Center was the first hospital in Los Angeles. The name was changed in 1918 to St. Vincent's Hospital. The name was changed again in 1974 to St. Vincent Medical Center following the construction of a new hospital. In 1995, the Daughters of Charity National Healthcare System sold SVMC to

Catholic Healthcare West Dignity Health (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) was a California-based not-for-profit public-benefit corporation that operates hospitals and ancillary care facilities in three states. Dignity Health was the fifth-largest hospital system in th ...

. In 2002, CHW sold the hospital to the newly established Daughters of Charity Health System. In 2014, the hospital agreed to be purchased by

Prime Healthcare Services Prime Healthcare Services is a United States privately held healthcare company. It was established in 2001, by chairman and CEO Prem Reddy, MD, and operates 45 hospitals in 14 states. It is affiliated with the nonprofit Prime Healthcare Foundation ...

as part a sale of all six hospitals in the financially troubled Daughters of Charity Health System. Although the sale was approved by the California Attorney General

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

, Prime ultimately backed out of the purchase agreement citing onerous approval conditions. In 2015, Harris approved a new deal with

BlueMountain Capital Assured Investment Management previously BlueMountain Capital Management and Assured Guaranty, is a diversified alternative asset manager founded in 2003 based in the United States'. Company BlueMountain was formed in 2003 with offices in New Yo ...

, under which the hospital system changed their name to

. The hospitals remained nonprofit but not Catholic. In 2017,

NantWorks NantWorks LLC founded in 2007 is an American multinational conglomerate holding company. It owns a number of technology companies in the fields of healthcare, commerce, digital entertainment as well as a venture capital firm in the healthcare, ed ...

, the holding company run by

Patrick Soon-Shiong Patrick Soon-Shiong (born July 29, 1952) is a Chinese-South African transplant surgeon, billionaire businessman, bioscientist, and media proprietor. He is the inventor of the drug Abraxane, which became known for its efficacy against lung, brea ...

, bought a majority stake in the management company from BlueMountain. Verity Health System filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

on August 31, 2018. KPC Group agreed to purchase SVMC for $120 million; however, the sale was not completed by the court-mandated deadline of December 5. On January 6, 2020, Verity announced the closure of St. Vincent Medical Center. According to a proposal of change of ownership prepared by Medical Development Specialists, the hospital specialized in cardiac care, cancer, total joint and spine care, and multi-organ transplants with a total of 366 beds.

Los Angeles Surge Hospital

During the coronavirus pandemic in California,

entered into an agreement with the State of California on March 20, 2020, to give the State access to the closed hospital as part of the State's preparations to care for patients impacted by

. The agreement was approved the same day by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to allow the State to temporarily lease the hospital as a treatment center for

. . The hospital reopened on April 13, 2020, as the Los Angeles Surge Hospital through a partnership with

and

to increase the county's surge capacity should the need arise. It is a transfer-only facility, accepting patients who test positive for the virus from other regional public and private hospitals.

Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation

The Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation placed a $135 million bid to acquire the hospital from Verity. The foundation, run by

, MD, and his wife, Michele B. Chan, said it would take over the state's lease obligations at the hospital if the deal is approved by the bankruptcy court.

References

External links

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This hospital in the CA Healthcare Atlas
A project by OSHPD {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Vincent Medical Center (Los Angeles) Hospitals in Los Angeles 1856 establishments in California Hospital buildings completed in 1856