COUNTY MAY SEEK TRAUMA CARE AID.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Faced with the possible collapse of the trauma-care network in Los Angeles County, the Board of Supervisors is expected to vote Tuesday whether to provide more money and to lobby the state for a bailout.

County officials would attempt to convince Sacramento lawmakers to come up with permanent funding for the network, which treats people who need emergency surgeries after traffic crashes, shootings and stabbings.

If the Legislature doesn't provide more money, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said Friday, he would seek a statewide initiative in 2002 that would funnel more Proposition 99 tobacco tax funds to trauma care doctors.

``We are all only one gunshot away or one traffic accident away from needing a trauma center,'' Yaroslavsky said during a news conference at the county Hall of Administration.

In a Daily News story in July, officials at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and Providence Holy Cross Medical Center said they might stop providing trauma care because of dwindling reimbursements. A total of five private hospitals have notified officials they might close their trauma operations.

The network is made up of 10 private hospitals and three county hospitals, including Northridge and Holy Cross in the San Fernando Valley.

The amount of Proposition 99 money the state has given the county for trauma care has dropped from $6.7 million in 1989-90 to $1.16 million in 2000-01, said Barbara Masters, director of intergovernmental relations for the county Department of Health Services.

Dr. Shawki Saad, medical director of trauma services at Northridge, said Friday that the medical staff voted to shut trauma services unless a solution is found by Sept. 30.

``The physicians feel enough is enough,'' Saad said. ``For the last 15 years, our funding has been going down and our number of uninsured patients has been rising. We can't solve society's problems. We can't underwrite the county just because they want us to.''

Saad said if Northridge shuts its trauma services, other trauma centers would do the same. ``It could have an avalanche effect where one hospital after another closes their trauma services down.''

Yaroslavsky said the Valley would be hard hit.

``You have the possibility that if something isn't done both in the short term and long term that both of these trauma centers could close, which would mean the entire San Fernando Valley would have no trauma center,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``That is simply unacceptable.''

PUBLIC MEETING

To address the crisis, the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Commission will hold a hearing Monday from 9 a.m. to noon in the board hearing room at the Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St.

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Box: PUBLIC MEETING (See text)