Moving to resolve one of the state's most vexing political battles, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to build and operate a 60-bed medical facility in the San Gabriel Valley.
The action is intended to end a protracted impasse between the board majority and powerful state lawmakers
The county plans to build a 600-bed hospital. But state lawmakers representing the Eastside and San Gabriel Valley have criticized the project as inadequate, saying a 750-bed center is needed. The latest hospital is a compromise measure intended as a satellite to County-USC.
A number of issues remain to be resolved. Most important is whether the state will provide funds to increase the size of the proposed County-USC center as well as pay for medical services for any additional people who would be hospitalized there.