BOARD GLUM AT PAYING POLITICAL RIVAL.

Byline: Jennifer Klein Staff Writer

VENTURA - County supervisors are so embittered by Community Memorial Hospital's effort to wrest away the county's tobacco settlement money, they were hard-pressed Tuesday to pay the private hospital for treating county patients.

Before approving the standard funding request, each of the supervisors expressed disgust at having to do business with the Ventura hospital, which has launched a ballot initiative that seeks to divert $250 million in tobacco settlement money into private health care programs.

While the board recognized it had to put patient safety ahead of politics, it did direct Health Care Agency Director Pierre Durand to look into the possibility of switching service contracts to other area hospitals, such as Santa Paula Healthcare Center or St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital.

Ventura County Medical Center has a long-standing policy against duplicating services provided by other area hospitals. It instead contracts with those hospitals to supply those services.

Community Memorial, which is only a few blocks away from VCMC, provides emergency cardiology and invasive radiology services to county hospital patients. The county also has contracts with other area hospitals and ones in Los Angeles County.

``I don't think we should be cooperating with them when they have a stick in our eye,'' said Supervisor Frank Schillo of Thousand Oaks, who along with Supervisor John Flynn of Oxnard voted against the request.

Supervisor Judy Mikels of Simi Valley said she, too, was unhappy with having to give money to Community Memorial, but said the board needed to rise above the politics and approve the request for $110,000., which was in addition to its $400,000 contract.