Commentary
The best real estate transaction the County of Orange ever entered was the sale of its hospital along the Santa Ana Freeway in the city of Orange for one dollar. You know it as the University of Irvine Medical Center on The City Drive. If you’ve followed any of the hospitals in Los Angeles County, you can appreciate the wisdom of our forefathers in exiting that endeavor.
Former Orange County Supervisor Harriett Wieder focused on pursuing a county-operated health system (COHS) in the early 1990s as a substitute to assist those in need of a medical safety net. You know it as CalOptima. It is now serving some 900,000 Orange County residents in need of affordable health care, along with the coalition of community health centers, to those utilizing Medi-Cal and Medicaid….