LA's Only Chinatown Hospital Closes

LOS ANGELES, CA -- After serving the Chinese community in Los Angeles, the Pacific Alliance Medical Center officially closed its doors and laid off its 638 employees this month. The Los Angeles Times reported that the only hospital in the once bustling community of Chinatown operated for 157 years.

Pacific Alliance Medical Center, which served those insured under Medicare and Medi-Cal, officially closed its doors on Nov. 30. But its employees worked until recently, the newspaper reported.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the hospital was required to update its hospital, which would have cost about $100 million.

"Investing that much money would be impractical, the hospital said, because someone else owns the land it sits on. PAMC, which has tried to buy the hospital land twice, owns only the parcel that the parking lot is built on and a different part of the property. Building a new hospital would have cost more than $400 million," the newspaper reported.

State records showed the hospital had operating losses of "$53 million and $44 million in 2015 and 2016, respectively," the newspaper said.

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