BOARD VIEWS WORKER BONUS A.V. HOSPITAL ENDS YEAR WITH SURPLUS.

Byline: Marci Wormser Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley Hospital trustees are considering granting bonuses to all hospital employees after the hospital finished the year with a $17.3 million surplus.

Board members said Tuesday that they did not know what the bonuses might amount to. They hope to vote at a special meeting Thursday so that hospital employees can receive the bonuses in time for Christmas.

``The employees who have worked hard all year ... deserve a bonus,'' board member June Snow said.

All of the approximately 2,000 hospital employees, including nurses and other employees such as housekeeping staffers, would receive bonuses if the board approves, she said.

Doctors employed at the hospital would not be eligible to receive a bonus because they work under contract, she said.

Antelope Valley Hospital ended fiscal year 2001-02 with a budget surplus of more than $17.3 million, up from $5.3 million the previous year, officials disclosed.

At a time when hospitals throughout the state are facing severe budget crises, the hospital attributed its financial success to controlling costs, improving revenue collection and higher HMO contract rates, administrators said.

As a public hospital, operated by an elected board, the hospital does not pay profits to shareholders, but must invest any surplus into improvements to equipment, facilities, services or employee pay.