LOS ANGELES, June 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stonehenge Capital today announced an investment in Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital (MLKCH), an acute care community-based hospital serving South Los Angeles, through the New Markets Tax Credit Program. The investment will help MLK Community Hospital complete a critical expansion of services to meet the needs of its patients.
The hospital, which provides acute care to the 1.35 million residents of South Los Angeles, was projected to provide emergency care to up to 40,000 patients each year when it opened in 2015. In reality, more than 80,000 patients seek care in the emergency department annually. With only one CT scanner to serve these patients, the hospital identified an additional machine as one of its greatest needs. The second machine will offer the capacity to perform procedures that can stop the progression of a patient’s condition, offer important diagnostic information and serve as a back-up to the highly utilized CT scanner in the emergency department during times of maintenance or repair.
“Given the high demand for our services, the need for a second CT scanner became critical,” said hospital Chief Executive Officer Elaine Batchlor, MD, MPH. “With the assistance of the New Markets Tax Credit Program we are better able to meet our mission to provide compassionate, collaborative, quality care to all who come through our doors.”
The additional CT scanner and new telemetry equipment will be financed in part through the Federal New Markets Tax Credit Program, which encourages investment in businesses and nonprofits in low-income communities, providing jobs and critical services to local residents. The investment is projected to bring 22 new, permanent jobs with higher than average wages and benefits to a highly distressed area.
Stonehenge Community Development, a subsidiary of Stonehenge Capital, provided $5 million of Federal New Markets Tax Credits allocation to support the project. U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, a division of U.S. Bank, invested an additional $1.7 million in New Markets Tax Credit equity into the project.
“MLK Community Hospital is the heartbeat of the community that it serves,” Stonehenge Capital Director L’Quentus Thomas said. “The residents of the South Los Angeles community deserve access to critical – and quality – health care. Stonehenge is pleased to be a part of expanding services that the hospital provides to its patients.”
“This hospital is an anchor of the health care safety net in South Los Angeles,” said Maria Bustria-Glickman, vice president of U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation. “Patients rely on this equipment to give them timely diagnoses and to help monitor their condition while they are in the hospital. With these new devices in place, patients will get better, more effective care. We are proud to help make that possible.”
About Stonehenge Capital
Since 1999, Stonehenge (www.stonehengecapital.com) has operated at the nexus of finance and community development. Stonehenge utilizes a variety of debt and equity financings to spur economic growth across the country and has offices in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, New York, Dallas and other locations.
About U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation
With $23 billion in managed assets as of March 31, 2017, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank, provides innovative financing solutions for community development projects across the country using state and federally sponsored tax credit programs. More information is available at www.usbank.com/cdc.
About Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital
Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital is a private, non-profit, safety-net hospital, administered by the Martin Luther King, Jr. - Los Angeles Healthcare Corporation (MLK-LA), a 501(c)(3) organization. The 131-bed community hospital has a 21-bed emergency department, 20 ICU beds, and 18 labor, delivery, and postpartum beds. The hospital’s mission is to provide compassionate, innovative and quality care, collaborating with providers and our community to create a healthier South Los Angeles. The hospital serves 1.35 million residents of South Los Angeles regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.