Catalina Island Health, the only hospital and health care facility on the island, has faced many challenges over the past year. A shortage of supplemental funding has placed its future at risk.
“There are over 30 critical access hospitals in all of California, and we are the least reimbursed hospital out of all of those 30. So as new patients would arrive, we would get less reimbursement for taking care of those patients,” said Tim Kielpinski, chief strategy officer for Catalina Island Health.
The hospital projected it would run out of funds by June. But thanks to the efforts of Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, emergency funding was secured in time to save the hospital…