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Responsible Hospital Expansion Campaign
LAANE, Civil Rights and Environmental Justice Groups Call for Responsible Development in Northeast San Fernando Valley
LAANE has joined a coalition representing civil rights organizations, residents, neighborhood council members, environmental advocates and labor groups fighting for fair and responsible hospital development in the Northeast San Fernando Valley.
Community Advocates for Responsible Expansion at Providence Holy Cross (CARE) supports a proposed expansion of the Mission Hills facility, but says that the hospital should be required to complete an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) as well as an air quality study before proceeding. An EIR is the process required under California state law for development projects that may result in significant environmental impacts.
Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is owned by Providence Health & Services (PH&S), a 26-hospital company based in Seattle. The company is planning a $143 million, 136-bed expansion on its current site.
CARE is asking the hospital to assess the expansion’s impact on a community already suffering from traffic, parking and air quality problems, and from inadequate access to emergency rooms. CARE includes a broad range of groups from the San Fernando Valley chapters of the NAACP and the Mexican American Political Association to the Coalition for Clean Air and the San Fernando Valley Greens.
Although the hospital expansion is expected to produce an additional 1,600 car trips a day, Providence has refused to prepare an EIR. A LAANE report, released on November 6, 2007, charges that a double standard is being applied to this project. EIRs have been prepared for hospital expansion in the county’s higher-income communities, such as Santa Monica, Santa Clarita and Beverly Hills. But Providence refused to assess the impact of its project on lower-income San Fernando Valley residents.
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