Country's 87th-Wealthiest Man to the Rescue
By JONATHAN LLOYD
Updated 11:15 AM PST, Thu, Oct 29, 2009
Patrick Soon-Shiong says there are no strings attached.
The pharmaceutical billionaire -- he's the 87th-wealthiest person in the country, according to Forbes magazine -- plans to give University of California regents a $100-million guaranty to underwrite the county's proposal to reopen Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital by 2012.
He plans to conduct a news conference with county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass at 10:30 a.m.
University officials have been hesitant to reopen the facility. The hospital received the nickname "Killer King" after a series of mishaps and patient deaths.
But Soon-Shiong's gift provides reason for optimism.
"This could be the county hospital of the future," Soon-Shiong, 57, a former UCLA surgeon, told the Los Angeles Times. "The whole issue is how do we ensure the financial viability of an institution where the patients are largely uninsured."
UC President Mark Yudof received Soon-Shiong's pitch Oct. 21.
"When Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital closed, it left an already underserved community without access to healthcare," Soon-Shiong wrote. "This unjust situation has compelled me to get involved."
Soon-Shiong told The Times.
The board of regents is expected to vote on the proposal Nov. 19 during their three-day meeting at UCLA, The Times reported.
County officials have promised to secure a $100-million letter of credit to guarantee the $63 million a year it will cost them to operate the planned nonprofit 120-bed hospital, according to the county's chief executive, William T Fujioka. Once the letter is obtained, Soon-Shiong's guaranty would underwrite the proposal.
Soon-Shiong ranks 87th among the country's richest person, according to Forbes, with an estimated worth of $5.5 billion. He made his fortune investing in biotechnology and developing anti-cancer drugs. He is married to actress Michele Chan, and the couple live on the Westside with their two teenage children.
Forbes interviewed Soon-Shiong about health care and President Obama in August. He said his goal is to build a "smart grid for health care" that provides tranparency for doctors and patients to help identify problems and treatments. He said mechanisms to eliminate fraud and abuse must be part of that system.
Not long after Soon-Shiong sold a company for $3 billion, he and his wife created the Culver City-based Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation. Two years ago, it gave $35 million to renovate St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica. Last month, they gave the hospital $100 million more to create and staff research centers.
Copyright City News Service / NBC Los Angeles
First Published: Oct 29, 2009 7:24 AM PST
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