Laguna Beach Healthcare Today and In The Future

November 3, 2026

Earlier this year, Providence Mission Hospital shared its plans to evolve its Laguna Beach campus into an outpatient-focused healthcare center. Since that time, we have been engaged in ongoing discussions with the City of Laguna Beach and community stakeholders about the future of healthcare services on the campus.

In September, at the request of the City’s Hospital Task Force, Providence committed to evaluating whether a smaller-scale hospital could provide a sustainable alternative to the existing hospital model. We have now completed that evaluation, considering capital requirements, projected patient volumes, workforce and infrastructure needs and the ongoing costs of operating a licensed hospital.

After careful evaluation, we have concluded that a smaller-scale hospital is not a clinically, operationally and financially sustainable model. We intend to move forward with our planned $40 million investment to develop an outpatient-focused Advanced Care Center on the existing Laguna Beach campus.

Our evaluation identified an estimated $160 million capital gap associated with developing a smaller hospital, before accounting for ongoing operating costs. Even if the upfront capital requirements could be addressed, anticipated patient volumes and the significant costs of maintaining hospital operations would create substantial long-term challenges.

Our commitment to serving Laguna Beach continues. 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.

Providence also is 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.

There is important work ahead to refine the specific services available at the campus, how patients with urgent and emergent needs will be supported, and how the future model will coordinate with emergency medical services and other regional healthcare providers.

As that planning continues, we remain committed to engaging residents, patients, caregivers, physicians and community partners to help shape the future of the Laguna Beach campus.

We appreciate the community’s continued engagement and share its commitment to ensuring access to high-quality healthcare services for years to come.

September 3, 2026

Earlier this year, Providence Mission Hospital shared its decision to evolve the Laguna Beach campus into an outpatient-focused medical center. Providence based its decision on several factors, including changes in how healthcare is delivered, utilization of healthcare services in Laguna Beach today and financial and operating pressures facing hospitals across California, including seismic safety deadlines. The site has included a hospital since 1959.

In March, the Laguna Beach City Council adopted a Hospital Action Plan in response to the Providence decision to transition the campus to an outpatient focused model in advance of the state’s 2030 seismic deadline. The action plan included forming a Hospital Task Force. The 16-member Task Force has met twice, including hearing a presentation from Providence on August 20th.

Providence is continuing their planning and community engagement in parallel, and the City and Providence have been in ongoing discussions as that process moves forward.

Representatives of the City and Providence met on August 24 and agreed to provide this update to the community following a collaborative discussion.

During that discussion with Providence, the City shared its belief that the most critical feature for the hospital site is that it include 24/7 emergency medical services that can accept patients by ambulance. To the City, the surest way of achieving this outcome is a smaller scale hospital, which includes an emergency department and some minimal number of acute care beds.

Providence has committed to an internal, fact-based evaluation of a smaller-scale hospital model. The goal is to develop a shared fact base of what preserving emergency services through a smaller scale hospital would require. This analysis does not commit Providence to pursuing this option.

The City appreciates Providence’s willingness to proceed with this additional evaluation.

Another potential option to provide emergency medical services at the site is through a standalone Emergency Department (ED), which is not currently allowed under state law. To that end, the City and Providence have jointly agreed to sponsor legislation in 2027 that would permit a stand-alone ED in Laguna Beach.

While this pathway has been previously explored in other parts of the state, a new administration and significant economic and seismic pressures across California’s hospital system may provide a stronger basis for positive consideration. We are not alone in seeking alternatives like a stand-alone ED.

The City and Providence recognize the value of engaging with the Orange County Emergency Medical Services (“OCEMS” – a division of the Orange County Health Care Agency) in a study of the local and regional impacts associated with changes to acute care and emergency services at Mission Hospital Laguna Beach.

The City and Providence have committed to participating fully in any OCEMS study, with data and expertise from both entities (including the Laguna Beach Fire Department’s EMS transport data), and will initiate discussions about beginning that study as soon as possible so the findings can inform a collaborative planning process for both the City and Providence.

In these early days of planning, both parties will work together to ensure that the healthcare needs of the Laguna Beach community remain at the center of these conversations.

Seth Teigen, Providence Mission Hospital Chief Executive noted: “We are continuing to evaluate how we can best serve Laguna Beach in a way that reflects how care is delivered today, responds to the community’s priorities and is sustainable for the future. We appreciate the City’s partnership and right now our commitment is to continue listening, sharing information and taking the necessary steps to make an informed decision about the future.”

Laguna Beach Council Member Bob Whalen, one of two Council members on the Hospital Ad Hoc Committee, said: “The City is focused on an outcome where our residents have access to a fully equipped emergency care facility in the city that can receive patients transported by ambulance.  We appreciate Providence’s willingness to study a smaller-scale hospital model, and we’re committed to working through this analysis together in the months ahead.”

Laguna Beach Council Member Alex Rounaghi, one of two Council members on the Hospital Ad Hoc Committee, said: “In 2016, the Attorney General’s own reviewers found it critical that Laguna Beach keep its emergency services, and the State required Providence to keep them for a decade. With 14,827 ER visits last year, and six of ten of our ambulance transports going there, I’m concerned about the loss of the ER. I appreciate Providence agreeing to study a smaller hospital that would keep emergency care here. Whatever that study concludes, the City will keep pursuing every tool it has to protect the health and safety of our residents.

August 20, 2026

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the ongoing conversations about the future of healthcare in Laguna Beach. We recognize how deeply this community cares about the future of the Providence Mission Hospital Laguna Beach. We share that commitment.

As these conversations continue, we want our community to have direct access to the facts and the information we can share as we plan, so residents may understand the factors shaping our planning.

1. The Providence Commitment

Providence Mission Hospital intends to continue our Mission in Laguna Beach today, tomorrow, and far into the future. In addition to the work we have already done, and our community listening, we have commissioned a third-party consultant in this next phase of planning to support planning for the future.

Most importantly – we’ve heard you. Providence is open to exploring creative policy solutions that could preserve emergency services and we will keep our community updated in that regard.

2. This is about a sustainable future of healthcare for our region.

We take our responsibility seriously to intentionally invest in healthcare services for our region, and Laguna Beach is an important part of that Mission-driven work—reflecting how patients use the campus today and the services that will best meet the community’s needs going forward.

3. The future of the Laguna Beach campus is still being shaped.

Providence is listening. We will continue regular discussions, thoughtful planning, exploring policy change, and listening to experts and our community as we build a sustainable healthcare model for the future.

We look forward to inviting you to a future community update. In the meantime, you can find the latest data and information on our planning process here and here, and we encourage you to visit the FAQs here.

Thank you for your input and commitment to our community’s health.