🚨 CRITICAL UPDATE – JUNE 10, 2026: The fight to save our ER just hit a turning point at City Hall. In a packed City Council session, Providence leadership officially admitted that their proposed new facility will NOT accept 911 ambulances, forcing a dangerous “stabilize and transfer” model onto the coast. Click here to read our full meeting breakdown, see the presentation slides, and learn how to fight back. →
JUNE 05 2026: The fight to save our ER moves to the City Council chambers this Tuesday, June 9th. Providence (Mission Hospital) is presenting, and our community must show up in force. Click here for the meeting times, location, and key agenda details you need to know.
APRIL 27, 2026: The City of Laguna Beach has officially announced the formation of a Hospital Task Force to address the upcoming ER closure. They are currently seeking residents to apply for this advisory group, and resumes are encouraged. Click here to read the full update and find out how to apply.
For decades, the hospital on Coast Highway has been our lifeline. But today, the question on every neighbor’s mind is: Is Mission Hospital Laguna Beach hospital closing?
While Providence Mission Hospital says they aren’t “leaving,” their long-term plan effectively guts the facility. By 2030, they intend to eliminate all inpatient beds and—most critically—our Emergency Room. Providence CEO Seth Teigen cites a $300 million seismic retrofit and a $50 million infrastructure bill as the primary reasons for this “strategic shift.”
However, for those of us in Laguna Beach, this looks less like a financial necessity and more like a “strategic abandonment.”
Protect Our Safety. Save Our ER. Providence needs to hear from the residents their “strategic shift” will impact most. Join thousands of your neighbors in demanding that Providence honors the 2009 agreement and keeps our Emergency Room open.
The “Engineered” Decline
Data recently highlighted by local advocates shows a staggering disparity: while Providence claims they cannot afford to save Laguna, they are currently spending $712 million on a massive expansion in Mission Viejo. Since 2016, for every dollar invested in our local campus, Providence has spent roughly $57 in Mission Viejo.
By systematically stripping our hospital of key services—like the Behavioral Health unit and outpatient labs—Providence has hollowed out the facility, creating the “low utilization” rates they now use to justify the closure of our ER.
The Summer Traffic Death Trap
The math of the “Golden Hour” doesn’t work in Laguna Beach. During peak summer traffic, the trek to Hoag Newport or Mission Viejo can easily exceed 75 minutes.
- Current Reality: A five-minute ambulance transport to the local Laguna Beach ER.
- Proposed Future: A 15-mile crawl through gridlock while a patient is in critical condition.
Fire Chief Niko King has already raised the alarm: with only two dedicated ambulances in the city, long-distance transports will leave Laguna Beach without any emergency coverage for hours at a time.
Providence claims they will replace our hospital with an Urgent Care model, but we cannot be misled: An Urgent Care is not a hospital. By law, Urgent Care centers cannot receive 911 ambulances. If our ER is downgraded, every 911 call in South Laguna will be forced into up to an hour-long race to Newport or Mission Viejo — effectively abandoning our residents during their most critical moments.
City Council’s Line in the Sand: The 2009 Agreement
The City Council is fighting to hold Providence to the 2009 Acquisition Agreement. This legal document, signed when Mission Hospital first took over the site, was conditioned on providing essential community benefits.
The City has recently adopted a formal “work plan” to:
- Enforce the 2009 Agreement: Investigate if the removal of 86 beds violates the original sale terms.
- Explore Land Use Power: Using zoning and city authority to prevent the hospital from being repurposed until emergency care is guaranteed.
- Ad Hoc Committee Action: Councilmembers Alex Rounaghi and Bob Whalen are aggressively gathering data on emergency calls to prove that our “low utilization” is a manufactured statistic that ignores the actual needs of our 911-call volume.
Providence thinks the clock ran out in 2019, but the City is reminding them that our zoning—and their moral obligation to the lives of Laguna residents—doesn’t have an expiration date.
An “Urgent Care” is not a hospital; it cannot legally receive 911 ambulances. If our ER closes, every 911 call in South Laguna becomes a life-or-death race to Newport or Mission Viejo.
The City Council is standing firm: the property is zoned for a hospital, and we will not grant a “medical” loophole to a corporation that trades our “Golden Hour” for their bottom line. No ER, no deal.
Join the Fight
Providence is expected to return to City Hall in the second quarter of 2026 for a final update. We cannot let them turn Laguna Beach into a medical desert. We want our ER, we want our safety, and we want Providence to honor its promises.
Contact the Decision Makers
Direct pressure is needed to halt the closure. Please use the contact information below to make your voice heard:
- Providence CEO: Email Seth Teigen at seth.teigen@providence.org
- Laguna Beach City Council: Email citycouncil@lagunabeachcity.net
Request a Legislative Exemption
We are asking our representatives to seek an immediate exemption from the laws forcing this closure:
- OC Fifth District Supervisor Foley: Call (714) 834-3550
- State Assembly Member Dixon: Call (949) 798-7221
- State Senator Strickland: Call (714) 374-4000
- Governor Newsom: Call (916) 445-2841 (Leave a message with an aide)
When is the Second Quarter meeting, I’d like to attend. As an RN in Mission Laguna Beach Hospital/OR where the money is MADE, our voices need to be heard as well as community members. Every patient we care for says Laguna is the BEST hospital for everything short of trauma. A lot of what we DON’T do anymore is the result of Providence moving out services. Mission hospital is ALREADY saturated daily, close Laguna and they won’t be able to keep up!
Holly,
Thank you so much for reaching out and sharing your perspective. As an RN in the OR, your firsthand experience is invaluable to this conversation. The community needs to hear about the impact of service migration and the current saturation levels at Mission.
We don’t have the specific date for the Second Quarter meeting finalized just yet. Please keep a close eye on the City Council agendas and minutes page here for the official announcement: https://www.lagunabeachcity.net/live-here/city-council/meetings-agendas-and-minutes.
You can also email Alex and Bob directly since they’re on the sub committee arounaghi@lagunabeachcity.net and bwhalen@lagunabeachcity.net
We would definitely value your voice and expertise when that meeting takes place!
Holly, a hospital task force was just announced by the City! Please share and apply here: https://www.lagunabeachcity.net/home/showpublisheddocument/25523/639121070714700000
https://www.lagunabeachcity.net/government/departments/boards-commissions-committees