ALLY WITH OTHER HOSPITAL NOW, SAYS TASK FORCE.

Byline: Grace Lee Staff Writer

VENTURA - Board members of the cash-strapped Santa Paula Memorial Hospital should act immediately to ally with another hospital instead of spending more money on consultants to study the issue, members of a community task force said Friday.

The struggling 40-year-old hospital sent out a letter in December urgently seeking funds to keep open the medical center with the only emergency room in the Santa Clara Valley.

``We want them to act now,'' said Fillmore Councilwoman Cecilia Cuevas, a member of the task force formed to help rescue the 49-bed hospital. ``Not one week from now, not 30 days from now, but now.''

The 10-member task force was appointed by the city councils of Santa Paula and Fillmore in January to report back today with recommendations to keep open the medical center.

The report urges the board to immediately ``arrange formal discussions'' with other area hospitals.

Hospital officials said they are considering alliances with a number of hospitals, including Community Memorial Hospital, a private facility in Ventura; St. John's Regional Medical Center, a private Oxnard hospital; and the county-owned Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura. But they have delayed formal meetings with other hospitals so consultants can assess the hospital's value and consider the best options.

Community Memorial has sent a letter to the board to express its interest in an alliance.

Cuevas criticized trustees for failing to respond to the crisis with sufficient urgency, arguing that postponing action doesn't make sense after telling the community that they only had enough funds to keep the facility's doors open until March 1.

Board spokesman Scott Lee said it was difficult to determine how long the hospital could stay open without taking action, citing fluctuating patient numbers.

According to task force member Scott Rushing, the board does not have the luxury of spending $45,000 on consultants whom trustees say will help the hospital make the smartest choice in terms of affiliation, merger or partnership.

``Get out there as a board,'' he urged. ``See what suitors have to say, and make an offer. You want to hear from two or three buyers. It's not rocket science.''

Furthermore, the information provided by the consultants may not aid the hospital in seeking some sort of alliance, said Dr. Ernest Carlson, a task force member and former board chairman.

It would be up to the larger hospital to determine the value of Santa Paula Memorial Hospital, he told the board in a letter that has been added to report.

Adding to the hospital's debt would only make it harder to draw the interest of other hospitals, he said.

But Al Guilin, board vice chairman, said the hospital is faced with a ``chicken and egg'' dilemma.

``Do we go unprepared or do we go prepared?'' he asked at a recent meeting. ``The board's position is, we need to be informed.''

The report also urged the hospital to develop a specific plan for outreach efforts in the community and write letters to every doctor in the region encouraging them to refer patients to the hospital.

Santa Paula Memorial Hospital has suffered in an environment that makes it easier for larger hospitals to thrive because they have more bargaining power with insurance companies. Officials say the medical center, which had a reserve of $6 million as recently as 1998, has lost too many of its patients to surrounding hospitals.

The task force report can be viewed at the following Web address: www.ci.santa-paula.ca.us.