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The Bid Is In: LA County Wants To House Homeless At St. Vincent Medical Center
L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis. (Al Kamalizad for LAist)
Los Angeles County has submitted a new bid to buy the bankrupt St. Vincent Medical Center so it can transform the facility into housing for the homeless and the poor.
"The County has submitted a bid for the St. Vincent Medical Center, but the terms of the bid itself [are] confidential,” said County spokesman Jesus Ruiz. Friday was the deadline to submit bids.
The Board of Supervisors voted at its Jan. 21 meeting to submit a bid; it unsuccessfully bid last year but the sale fell through, leading the hospital’s owner to announce that it would shut down.
County CEO Sachi Hamai told the board that she preferred to buy the hospital with cash.
“I don’t want to enter into any short-term or long-term obligations,” she said.
Supervisor Hilda Solis said at the meeting that St. Vincent sits in an area that hosts the county’s largest concentration of homeless people, “over 16,000.” The hospital sits in Solis’ supervisorial district.
“I wholeheartedly support the County’s bid to acquire St. Vincent Medical Center!” L.A. City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell said in a statement Friday. The hospital is in his council district.
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“There remain many unknown variables in this matter, and I will continue to lead the charge to explore all options," O’Farrell said.
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