County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas yesterday applauded a vote by the Board of Supervisors to allocate nearly $1 million for a state-of-the-art fitness park in the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Medical Center campus.
The park is a major component of the County’s efforts to promote exercise and preventive well-being. It will mark another progressive step toward fulfillment of the entire MLK Hospital project.
“This allocation represents more than an investment in our physical infrastructure,” Mr. Ridley-Thomas said. “It is an investment in our community’s health and future.
“As we fight to protect the historic health reform legislation that is giving millions of County residents access to affordable care, we are moving forward with local projects like the South Health Fitness Park.”
The quarter-acre park, adjacent to the $20 million South Health Center presently under construction, will feature a greenway, exercise stations, seating areas and native, drought-tolerant landscaping. The project is part of Mr. Ridley-Thomas’s goal to provide quality healthcare and wellness opportunities to all Second District residents, he said.
“The fitness park will be a vital part of the new MLK Hospital Campus,” the Supervisor added. “This feature of the new South Health Center reaffirms the County’s commitment to the idea that health and well-being are a basic right for all.”
Last June, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas joined local leaders and health advocates to break ground on the 33,000 square-foot South Health Center, intended to be a fount of wellness and preventive services and feature a community kitchen and garden.
Construction is to begin in the coming months on the $400 million Martin Luther King, Jr. Medical Center, which, supporters say, will provide the highest quality of medical care in ultra-modern facilities.
Ms. Harris may be contacted at jharris@bos.lacounty.gov
