LOS ANGELES – Six Los Angeles-based health foundations, health plans and healthcare providers are urging the University of California Regents to reopen the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.

A proposal has been made that the medical center partner with the University of California to re-open by 2012.

In a letter to the UC Regents, the group pledged to work with county officials, community health centers and civic leaders to create a new public-private model of health services for south Los Angeles.

“This new approach, taking advantage of advances in health information technology, would do much to enhance the quality of care, improve health outcomes and reduce fragmentation and inefficiency in healthcare delivery,” the letter said.

The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Catholic Healthcare West, National Health Foundation, L.A. Care Health Plan, UniHealth Foundation and The California Endowment all signed onto the letter.

“South Los Angeles faces some of the most daunting challenges and greatest health disparities of any community in the state,” the letter said. “There simply are not enough hospital beds to meet the community’s need and that is unacceptable.”

L.A. County is “fast-tracking” design and construction plans for the medical center in an effort to qualify for federal stimulus funding for “shovel-ready projects.” Also, Los Angeles pharmaceutical billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has pledged a $100 million loan guaranty to underwrite the re-opening of the medical center.