COUNTY REQUESTS TRAUMA-SITE STUDY; FACILITY FOR VALLEY PROPOSED.

Byline: Rick Orlov and Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writers

Concerned about the helicopter crash that killed a young car-collision victim, Los Angeles County supervisors Tuesday ordered health officials to study whether the San Fernando Valley needs its own trauma center for children.

The board asked the county Department of Health Services for the report in response to the March 23 helicopter crash that claimed the lives of three firefighters and 11-year-old Norma Vides. She was being taken to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in Hollywood with possible internal injuries after a traffic collision in Shadow Hills.

The Los Angeles City Council ordered its departments to work with the county to try to open such a facility.

``Los Angeles County has nine trauma centers for children, but none are in the Valley,'' said Councilman Richard Alarcon. ``The reason we had to use a Fire Department helicopter last week was because there are no trauma centers in the Valley.''

Alarcon noted that last year there were a total of 151 air transports by the Los Angeles Fire Department and 97 of those were to Childrens Hospital and most of those from the Valley.

Alarcon said Northridge Hospital Medical Center and Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills are considering whether to seek pediatric trauma center status.

Yaroslavsky said it's not clear whether opening a children's pediatric trauma center in the Valley is the answer. He said some medical experts say it's better to transport children by air to specialized facilities like Childrens Hospital.

The Department of Health Services will report back within a month.

On a related issue, the City Council called for a full report Tuesday on the crash and an accounting of the Fire Department's equipment needs.

Councilwoman Laura Chick, who chairs the council's Public Safety Committee, said the city has fallen behind in its plan to replace fire and police helicopters.

``While we made initial strides in replacing the city's oldest helicopters, it is clear we have begun to deviate from the agreed upon replacement program,'' Chick said. ``Last year, a helicopter that was to have been replaced was cut from the budget.''

Chick asked to know why two Los Angeles Police Department helicopters have not been replaced even though they have more than the limit of 15,000 hours of flight time set by the council.

Alarcon said he wants to see the city conduct a broad inventory of the equipment it has in order to judge whether it can be transferred to other departments.

``The question has to be answered on what are our priorities,'' Alarcon said. ``The Fire Department should be a top priority.''

Ken Buzzell, president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, said the equipment needs are a continuing problem for the department.

``Every year since 1995, the department has asked for a replacement helicopter for Helicopter 3 (which crashed last week),'' Buzzell said. ``We have air bottles that are supposed to have a 30-minute supply of air and it's only nine minutes.