Laguna Beach approves $500,000 to explore saving its only ER

Laguna Beach City Council members unanimously approved $500,000 Tuesday to explore ways to keep the city’s only emergency room open, according to Voice of OC. Providence Mission Hospital is slated to end acute care operations in early 2030 amid seismic upgrade requirements.

The emergency department handled nearly 15,000 visits in 2025, including about 7,000 classified at the highest complexity level. Its closure would send emergency patients to hospitals in nearby communities, making access and ambulance travel central issues in the city’s preservation effort.

According to Voice of OC, the money could cover consultants and specialists in health care law and regulation. The city is also considering different hospital operators, alternative financing for emergency care and legal options to retain a hospital.

Providence proposes turning the facility into an outpatient center without acute care services. Bringing the hospital into compliance with seismic standards would require $350 million in improvements, Voice of OC reported.

State law requires acute care hospitals to withstand a major earthquake and continue operating afterward. Facilities that do not meet the standards must be retrofitted, replaced, demolished or taken out of acute care use before Jan. 1, 2030. Hospitals can request a three-year extension, but Providence did not seek one for the Laguna Beach emergency room, according to an Oct. 13 staff report cited by Voice of OC.

California currently bars stand-alone emergency rooms, requiring hospitals that operate them to be general acute care facilities. Providence and the city are seeking legislation to permit independent emergency departments, while the city’s Hospital Task Force is discussing a possible micro-hospital with Providence.

The city formed the 16-member task force in March, with Council members Alex Rounaghi and Bob Whalen among its members. The group has met with representatives of the attorney general’s office and requested an impact study and a review of funding, according to Voice of OC.

The local hospital received 1,085 of the city’s 1,811 ambulance transports from July 1 to Aug. 25, with an average transport time of five minutes, the publication reported. Providence’s hospital in Mission Viejo is 8.6 miles away.

A survey of 400 residents found that 88% considered having an emergency room accessible within the city important, according to Voice of OC. The approved spending funds an examination of preservation options rather than the hospital’s seismic improvements.