Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Huntington Hospital in Pasadena to Receive $7.2 Million Under Los Angeles County Trauma Center Agreement

The county’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $73.48 million agreement with 13 non-county-operated trauma centers across the region

Huntington Hospital will receive $7.2 million from Los Angeles County to help fund its emergency and trauma services after the County’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $73.48 million agreement with 13 non-county-operated trauma centers across the region.

The vote, taken at the Board’s regular meeting June 30 at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Los Angeles, authorizes the County to execute amended Memoranda of Agreement with each of the 13 hospitals for Fiscal Year 2025-26. County officials characterized the action as procedural and necessary to ensure continuity of care.

Huntington Hospital — located at 100 W. California Blvd. and the only Level II trauma center serving the San Gabriel Valley — will receive $7,225,731 under the agreement, according to a staff report from the County’s Department of Health Services submitted to the Board.

The hospital ranks 11th among the 13 recipients by funding amount. California Hospital Medical Center received the largest allocation at $18,364,884, while Children’s Hospital Los Angeles received the smallest at $4,956,974, according to the Department of Health Services report.

How the Money Is Structured

Huntington’s $7.2 million allocation is drawn from three County funding sources. The breakdown, as listed in the Department of Health Services board letter, is as follows:

• Infrastructure support (fixed): $1,200,000
• Trauma volume: $1,535,484
• Underinsured/Medi-Cal patient care: $1,045,749
• Measure B 2025 rate-increase add-on: $1,566,532
• Measure B 2022 rate-increase add-on: $624,536
• Acuity: $553,430
• Base station services (fixed): $700,000

Huntington received no allocation in the patient-based uninsured category — a column that reflects each hospital’s share of indigent claims from the prior fiscal year. The Department of Health Services report attributed the absence to the methodology, which is based on Fiscal Year 2024-25 uninsured claims data.

Countywide Funding Pool

The overall $73.48 million countywide agreement draws from $70.757 million in Measure B parcel tax funds, $2.025 million from the Maddy Emergency Medical Services Fund, and $698,000 in Richie’s Fund, the pediatric trauma sub-account of the Maddy Fund, according to the Department of Health Services staff report.

Measure B was approved by County voters on Nov. 5, 2002, by a margin of 73% to 27%, authorizing a parcel tax on improved properties to fund the countywide trauma network, emergency medical services, and bioterrorism preparedness, according to the County’s Department of Health Services. The property assessment rate as of July 1 is $0.0630 per improved square foot, per the Department of Health Services report.

The Maddy Emergency Medical Services Fund was created in 1987 under state law to reimburse hospitals and physicians for treating uninsured patients seeking emergency care.

Beyond the County’s direct $73.48 million obligation, the program involves an intergovernmental transfer of up to $52.572 million in Measure B funds to the state, which draws down 50% federal Medi-Cal matching dollars for supplemental payments to eligible private trauma hospitals, bringing the total program value to approximately $126 million, according to the Department of Health Services board letter.

The board letter, signed by Department of Health Services Director Christina R. Ghaly, states: “There is no net County cost impact associated with the recommendations.”

Memorandum of Agreement Extended Through 2027

In addition to approving the Fiscal Year 2025-26 payments, the Board authorized the Department of Health Services director to extend each hospital’s Memorandum of Agreement through June 30, 2027, to allow time for development of the Fiscal Year 2026-27 funding methodology, according to the staff report.

About Huntington Hospital

Huntington Hospital is a 534-bed nonprofit community medical center and a Cedars-Sinai affiliate. It is home to the largest emergency department in the San Gabriel Valley, with 52 treatment beds, according to the hospital’s website. The hospital’s affiliation with Cedars-Sinai Health System became official Aug. 3, 2021, according to an announcement from Huntington Health.

The hospital traces its origins to November 1892, when the Pasadena Hospital Association was formed by local residents. A $2 million bequest from the estate of railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington in the 1930s led to the hospital being renamed in his honor, according to the hospital’s history page.

Equity Concerns

A South Los Angeles hospital that is not among the 13 designated trauma centers raised concerns before the Board vote. Martin Luther King Community Hospital CEO Elaine Batchlor wrote to the Board warning of financial pressures on safety-net hospitals and calling for a review of the Measure B distribution formula, according to Patch, which cited a report from Courthouse News Service.

Atul Nakhasi, vice president of government affairs and community relations for MLK Community Hospital, said the hospital “see[s] the highest volume of Medicaid ED visits statewide, the highest volume overall of emergency department visits among non-county hospitals in Los Angeles County, and carry the highest ED bed burden of any emergency department in the county,” according to Patch/Courthouse News Service.

“We’re calling for a needs-based formula because we need the safety net,” Nakhasi said, according to the same report. “This community of South LA has been historically deprived of resources.”

The Board of Supervisors had directed the County’s chief executive officer in July to report back on the Measure B allocation formula. Acting CEO Joseph M. Nicchitta issued that report April 6, presenting options for adjusting the formula. No final Board decision on a formula change has been announced, according to County records.

The five-member Board of Supervisors — Chair Hilda L. Solis (1st District), Holly J. Mitchell (2nd District), Lindsey P. Horvath (3rd District), Janice Hahn (4th District) and Kathryn Barger (5th District) — voted unanimously to approve the agreement.