BOARD ORDERS A.V. HOSPITAL WASTE REPORT.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

County supervisors ordered quarterly reports on surplus equipment and supplies at High Desert Hospital on Tuesday after learning that desks, chairs, gurneys and other items had been dumped behind the medical center.

On a motion by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, the board directed Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen to inventory the county's surplus assets so that such equipment can be reassigned and used by other departments.

``The supervisor is saying that any surplus assets should be reused, recycled, sold or donated to worthwhile charities,'' said Cam Currier, a spokesman for Antonovich. ``To do anything less is a waste of taxpayers' money. And there's no excuse for that.''

A county investigation found that High Desert officials violated county rules and procedures by piling surplus equipment and supplies behind the facility, a practice that stretches back 30 years.

Much of the material appeared broken and unusable, but other items should have been turned over to a county warehouse in the City of Commerce or sold, according to a report. Instead, it deteriorated along with its resale potential, the report said.

The accumulation included desks, chairs, gurneys, chain-link fencing, metal poles, an incinerator, a forklift and a sterilizer. A six-foot-deep pit contained chunks of concrete, broken drywall and pieces of asphalt.

Also stored there were 13 deteriorated bungalows, brought to High Desert for future use form Olive View Hospital and UCLA Medical Center about 1995, the report said.

A hospital warehouse worker told health inspection and audit division staffers that he hauled surplus items to the City of Commerce warehouse periodically, about three times annually in recent years.

Supervisors ordered an investigation Jan. 6 after county officials were alerted to the dump between the hospital and the state prison near 60th Street West and Avenue I.

The dump has been cleaned up with the exception of six to eight bungalows in need of repair. The county is seeking to hand them over to schools or churches for nominal bids, officials said. No unsafe or hazardous materials were found.

County officials would not comment on whether any employees were disciplined, citing confidentiality of personnel matters.

The county is requiring that staffers receive training on proper disposal of surplus items and will establish clear-cut responsibilities for employees, officials said.

``It appears that (High Desert) staff violated county ordinance and (Internal Services Department) procedures for disposal of surplus property, resulting in the potential loss of revenue from the failure to properly dispose of facility assets,'' the report said.

Officials at High Desert, which has had six administrators since 1990, cited budget cuts, lack of staff and resources, and other priorities, such as patient care, as reasons for the lapse.

Longtime employees at High Desert told investigators that the area behind the hospital has been used to dump items for approximately 30 years. They also said the area had been used as a ``collection site'' for unwanted items until disposal could be arranged, the report said.

An official with the county Internal Services Department, Linda Estrada, stated that some chain-link fencing had lost its resale potential when it was dumped because of the deterioration caused by lengthy exposure to weather, the report said.

Estrada also said there was a large resale market for old medical equipment, including beds and IV poles, the report said.