FAQs

Providence is moving forward with a $40 million investment in a comprehensive, outpatient-focused Advanced Care Center, and a strong regional network of care. Our goal is to develop a model centered on the healthcare services community members use most frequently, with connections to inpatient, emergency and specialty care available through Mission Hospital Mission Viejo and other regional providers.

Current plans anticipate:

• Urgent Care: An expanded urgent care model, with operating hours informed by patient demand. Emergency Medicine physicians will play an active role in developing the clinical model and care pathways to support this service.
• Advanced Imaging: CT, X-ray, MRI, ultrasound and mammography.
• Laboratory Services: Convenient access to outpatient lab draws.
• Primary and Specialty Care: Primary care and rotating specialty services, with anticipated offerings including cardiology, OB/GYN and gastroenterology.
• Outpatient Surgery: An ambulatory surgery center focused initially on elective orthopedic procedures, many of which are performed on the hospital campus today but can be safely delivered in a dedicated outpatient setting.

We are also exploring opportunities to strengthen access to community-based healthcare services and partnerships that further advance our mission of caring for all, especially vulnerable and underserved populations.

Providence thoroughly studied the possibility of operating a smaller scale hospital. That analysis showed that a smaller-scale hospital would not be clinically, operationally or financially sustainable. It identified an estimated $160 million capital gap associated with developing the facility, before accounting for ongoing operating costs. Even if the capital funding were to be secured, projected patient volumes, staffing needs, infrastructure requirements and the costs of maintaining a licensed hospital would present substantial long-term challenges.

Financial sustainability is an important consideration, but it is not the only factor. First, Providence considered the dramatic shift over time in how people are using healthcare services in Laguna Beach. That information, combined with financial factors, helped shape Providence’s initial plans for evolving the campus.

Providence also is closely watching the anticipated impacts of H.R. 1. In California alone, Providence anticipates approximately $200 million in reduced healthcare funding in 2027, including roughly $40 million in Orange County. Providence has a responsibility to steward its resources carefully while sustaining access to care across the communities it serves.

Providence has concluded that continuing to operate a hospital in Laguna Beach, including a smaller-scale model, is not sustainable. We are not leaving Laguna Beach. Rather, we are moving forward with planning a $40 million investment to develop the campus into an outpatient Advanced Care Center that provides the services our community needs most, while still connecting patients to specialized inpatient care locally.

Providence recognizes that access to emergency care is one of the community’s most significant concerns. An important part of planning for the future campus will be determining how patients with urgent and emergent needs are supported. Providence will continue discussions with our emergency services partners and closely coordinate this future change with public safety agencies and regional healthcare providers.

Providence will work closely with emergency medical professionals and the public safety sector to safely plan for this change. What we know now is that for the most serious medical emergencies – such as trauma, heart attack, stroke, and OB-GYN-related concerns – patients are already typically transported directly to Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo or other facilities. In Laguna Beach, many patients seen in the Emergency Department have non-life-threatening conditions and are treated and discharged, while the most critical cases are generally routed to facilities equipped for more advanced services. For more details, click here.

Providence recognizes and respects the City’s interest in independently exploring potential alternatives.

Community engagement will be an important part of developing the Advanced Care Center. Once we have the broad scope of services defined, we intend to seek input from residents, patients, caregivers, physicians, community partners and local leaders to help inform continued planning.

Providence will now collaborate with physicians, medical professionals, caregivers, emergency services partners and others to refine and shape the specific services for the Laguna Beach campus. Providence will provide additional information as planning progresses.

Investing $300 million into seismic compliance would not address the challenge here or bring innovations and services to meet the changing healthcare needs of our community today. As a not-for-profit, Catholic provider, Providence takes seriously our responsibility to invest sustainably in our Mission. Beyond the seismic compliance needs, we cannot continue to sustainably operate an acute care hospital in Laguna Beach, and that model does not currently reflect the needs we are seeing in our community.

Mission Viejo was established as a regional destination for advanced and specialty care. Bringing highly specialized services and teams together in a regional center is logical, and reflects how healthcare is increasingly delivered. Laguna Beach requires intentional investment as well, but investment that reflects how the community uses care today and what it will need tomorrow.

Providence will continue to pursue possible legislation that would allow for a free-standing emergency department in parallel with current plans to move the $40 million investment forward.

We encourage you to continue vising this site for factual updates about our planning process. You can also submit a comment for consideration here. In addition, Providence envisions community engagement being an important part of developing the Advanced Care Center.