At their meeting Monday night, the Los Alamitos City Council approved the first step in the expansion plans of Los Alamitos Medical Center. In a 4/1 vote, over the objections of councilwoman Jerry Mejia and a couple of public speakers, the city council approved plans for an environmental impact report, EIR, and a reimbursement mechanism by which the hospital will pay for the study.

There was some concern expressed at this meeting, in previous meetings, and other communications, that approval was premature. The hospitals application is not yet complete and an over all plan for the Katella corridor is also pending. Although not publically presented at the meeting and lacking an official response from the city, there was also concern about land title and related issues. The council brushed aside the concerns and approved the proposals as presented.

The EIR is one of the initial steps toward ultimate approval of the hospital’s 25 year development plan. According to Susan Morales, Marketing and Communications Director at the hospital, the plans call for two new patient care towers that will replace multi occupancy rooms with private rooms, expansion of the emergency room, A new parking structure, and a new 80,000 square foot Medical Office Building.

The two new patient towers will add a total of 198 new licensed beds, up from the current total of 166. After the addition, the hospital will have 364 beds. The project also includes Demolition of the existing medical office building located at the northwest corner of Kaylor Street and Katella Avenue to allow for reconfiguration of surface parking areas.

No date is set for a design and construction phase. Morales said the new towers would be single or double rooms only. The current facility only has private rooms for specialized purposes such as where isolation is required, or for ICU or CCU patients.

The hospital released the following statement:
“Los Alamitos Medical Center is working with the City of Los Alamitos to begin the process for the development of a 25 year Specific Plan. The request for an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and supporting documentation was a first step so that the hospital could start developing plans for future growth.

A Specific Plan would include a global picture of the future of the hospital and is based on trends and projections of community growth and demographics. The hospital’s plans are fluid as we try to meet the needs of a changing community.

LAMC is working in conjunction with the city planner to start the process of redesigning the hospital campus. Future growth would include parking solutions, additional medical office space, and a different hospital configuration. Specific sizes and placement are in the preliminary phase.”