Board of Supervisors Invest $20 Million in Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital to Help Support Access to Critical Health Services

LOS ANGELES, Calif. —This week the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion authored by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell that invests a total of $20 million dollars of Los Angeles County’s unallocated Measure B funding over the next four years to help support the operational needs of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital (MLKCH). The motion authorizes the County’s Department of Health Services to allocate $8 million in one-time Measure B funding to be released to MLKCH and an additional $4 million up until the fiscal year 2026-2027.

“We have a responsibility to help ensure Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital has the funding it needs to continue to provide excellent healthcare services to our communities. It is a vital County institution providing lifesaving care to thousands of residents from communities that have historically faced limited access to quality health services,” said Supervisor Mitchell. “This investment builds on the County’s commitment to prioritize the health and well-being of our residents.”

MLKCH serves a patient population that faces disproportionately high chronic illness and unmet needs. Before it was built, the County projected that the MLKCH emergency room would receive roughly 25,000 to 30,000 visits a year. Last year alone, the hospital had 100,000 emergency room visits. MLKCH reported that nearly all the patients visiting the emergency room are covered by Medi-Cal, but current Medi-Cal rates do not compensate the hospital for the actual cost of care. The hospital estimates that it will run out of funding in December 2024 and is seeking other state and federal funding options.

In November of 2023, the Board passed Supervisor Mitchell’s motion directing the County’s Chief Executive Office (CEO) and the Department of Health Services to identify options to help financially stabilize MLKCH’s operations. The CEO identified various relief options that would have no net County cost, including using unallocated Measure B funding.

“I’m tremendously gratified for the leadership of Supervisor Mitchell and the support from the County Board of Supervisors to provide the funding MLK Community Hospital needs to continue to deliver on our mission in South L.A. said Dr. Elaine Batchlor, CEO of MLK Community Healthcare. “The Board’s unanimous vote unequivocally affirms the public-private partnership that makes us so unique—and so powerful a model for health equity throughout the state and the nation.”

The hospital continues to meet the high demand with excellence in service. MLKCH has earned a rare 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for two years in a row and recently earned an “A’ from Leapfrog – an independent national non-profit that measures quality and patient safety.

To read the full motion, click here.