About White Memorial

Challenges and Opportunities

Like many hospitals in our area, we are facing challenges related to our long-term sustainability. For instance:

It is well known that the health care system in Los Angeles County has serious challenges, with hospitals around the county cutting services.
Government funding that helps cover some of the costs of caring for low-income patients at WMMC has declined over the last 11 years.
A shortage of nurses and allied health professionals make it difficult for hospitals to attract and retain qualified professionals.
New and important regulations have increased costs at a faster pace than revenues are rising. These include the state’s earthquake safety mandate, which requires major investments in construction and renovation, and state-mandated nurse staffing levels. We have spent an additional $6 million every year beginning in 2004 to cover the costs of implementing the nurse staffing ratios.

We are addressing these challenges in several ways:

We continue to support the health of our community by offering accessible, quality care to patients who need it most, including the uninsured. Also, we work closely with our uninsured patients to identify any sources of health care coverage for which they may be eligible. Read more about how we care for the uninsured.
We have placed a special emphasis on recruiting and retaining nurses and patient care staff who share our mission and values by paying competitively, strengthening our training and education programs, advertising vacancies locally and more widely, improving our performance review process, and developing programs like our RN Residency Program. Read more about our nurse training program.
We invest in critical community services, new technology and facilities by managing our yearly surplus and savings responsibly. Currently, we are investing in the future of our community through the renovation of our campus to meet all requirements for earthquake safety.

By operating in a socially responsibly way, we believe we can fulfill our mission and sustain our financial health well into the future.