Lompoc’s Champion Center Failed Due to Leadership, Grand Jury Finds

Source: Santa Barbara County Grand Jury

In July 2017, the Lompoc Valley Medical Center, a healthcare district, shut down the operations of its $21 million Champion Center, a freestanding chemical dependency recovery hospital, after operating for only two-and-a-half years.

In the course of operating the Center for such a brief period, it lost $10 million, requiring financial support from the Medical Center’s other operations.  The 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury investigated the reasons why this financial failure took place.

The Jury concluded that although the Champion Center began with a vision of community service and the prospect of generating additional income for the Lompoc Valley Medical Center a combination of factors contributed to the Champion Center’s failure.  Furthermore, the Jury found it disturbing that the Lompoc Valley Medical Center’s leadership denied making any mistakes, and felt no obligation to explain the failure of the Champion Center to its voters.

The form and timeframe of the agencies’ responses are required by California Penal Code §933 and §933.05.  All Grand Jury reports and responses are posted on the Jury’s website (www.sbcgj.org).