HOSPITAL DEVELOPER CHOSEN GROUNDBREAKING FOR NONEMERGENCY FACILITY EXPECTED EARLY NEXT YEAR.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

A state-of-the art, 27-bed surgical hospital that will pamper patients from head to toe is moving forward.

Amoroso Companies of Westlake Village was chosen to develop the Thousand Oaks Surgical Hospital and attached medical offices on Rolling Oaks Drive near Moorpark Road, officials said Thursday.

``We are very excited things are moving along,'' said surgeon Patrick Reiten, a co-founder of the hospital. ``We are looking forward to the groundbreaking early next year.''

Reiten said the $25 million, 47,000-square-foot hospital is expected to open in early 2003. The bureaucratic approval process slowed down the project, which was first announced in 1999.

The nonemergency facility will offer services including orthopedics, gynecology, and general and plastic surgery. It'll also offer hotellike services including designer bath towels, gourmet meals and a nurse for every three patients.

Reiten said the surgical hospital project will not be affected by Thousand Oaks' decision to look into luring another full-service hospital in the growing area and Los Robles Regional Medical Center's announcement of a major expansion plan.

``The community is so underserved my expectation is we will be very busy, very quickly, when we open,'' he said. ``And Los Robles will continue to be busy after we open as well. I don't foresee it as an either-or situation.''

So far 36 doctors have invested in the hospital, with more expected to come on board as the project moves forward. The doctors are partnering with FSC Health Inc, which has a surgery facility in Fresno.

Once the facility opens, doctors in the community can apply for privileges at the site, which will take all forms of insurance and be comparable in surgical cost to traditional hospitals.