FAQs

Transitioning from acute care services will happen over time through thoughtful planning and coordination, to ensure continuity of care for our community.

Since the Laguna Beach facility was built in 1959, healthcare has evolved significantly and rapidly. With advances in medical technology and care delivery, people are using and accessing healthcare services in different ways. On average, more than 80 percent of our beds are unused every day.

We are thoughtfully considering community need, long-term sustainability and our ability to deliver high-quality care in a way that honors our Mission and the dignity of every person as we plan for the future of healthcare in Laguna Beach in collaboration with others. Much work remains to be done.

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. We remain firmly committed to the Laguna community. Rather than closing our doors, we intend to invest in evolving the Laguna Beach campus to provide the services our patients are relying on us for today, while continuing to invest in Mission Viejo, where our community has been accessing advanced specialty care since it opened.

Our goal is to build a healthcare campus that reflects the long-term needs of our community. We are exploring all the possibilities of an advanced care campus that offers access to immediate care, outpatient services, same-day surgical services and more, enabling our community members to continue to get the same kind of care most people are using the campus for today – but more sustainably and conveniently.

While we are still in the beginning stages of planning, we hope to share a proposed care model with the community by the end of summer 2026.

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.