Though it was purchased in April 2020, Los Angeles based-St. Vincent's Medical Center still remains closed, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported. The city's oldest hospital, encompassing five buildings and 674,000 square feet, has only briefly served as an overflow campus for COVID-19 patients since it was purchased more than two years ago. St. Vincent's originally closed in January 2020 following ongoing financial struggles leading to bankruptcy. Billionaire bioscientist Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, purchased the hospital for $135 million in April 2020, claiming the facility would be used as a "premier [COVID-19] research center." "The calls to reopen the vacant St. Vincent Medical Center are getting louder, and rightfully so," Westlake Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell said in a statement after he introduced a resolution urging the state to purchase or lease the hospital so it can reopen. Dr. Soon-Shiong has enlisted the help of Chicago-based real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle to find new potential tenants for the site. It remains unclear if the site will remain a full-service hospital once a tenant is found.
