HOSPITAL SOUGHT BY FIVE AREAS; DISTANCE FROM LOS ROBLES RAISES FEARS; MONEY SOUGHT.Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer Resident Ed Wanner figures if he or his wife had an emergency, it would take up to 25 minutes to drive to Los Robles Robles is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning oaks, and may refer to:
``It would be nice to have a hospital within 15 minutes of here,'' said Wanner who has been concerned about emergency services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' since the closing of the local hospital three years ago. And that is what five bedroom communities in the western reaches of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County are trying to do: bring a full-service hospital into the area. The five neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. cities that make up the Las Virgenes, Malibu, Conejo Council of Governments - Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills and Malibu - passed a resolution Tuesday to send a letter to Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman. asking for funds for hospital land. The group wants to use a portion of the county's share of the state tobacco settlement to buy land that could be used to entice a company to build a hospital in the area. ``The rationale rationale (rash´  nal´),n the fundamental reasons used as the basis for a decision or action. is we have an adequate hospital in Los Robles but they are limited to 40 more beds,'' said Westlake City Councilman James Henderson James Henderson may refer to:
``The population in the next five to 10 years will increase, and the population is aging slightly, so I don't think a 40 bed addition will be able to handle it,'' he said. ``So there is a need for a hospital.'' The cities are asking for 3 percent of the county's initial share of the tobacco settlement, which would come to $17 million to $18 million. That would be used to buy 20 to 30 acres along Highway 101 between Calabasas and Westlake Village that could be leased to a company interested in building a hospital, Henderson said. ``Many (companies) have said the cost of land is so expensive it would inhibit inhibit /in·hib·it/ (in-hib´it) to retard, arrest, or restrain. in·hib·it v. 1. To hold back; restrain. 2. them from coming and building a facility,'' said Westlake Village Mayor Betty DeSantis. ``So this way if we could help them by purchasing the land and leasing it to them it would entice them to build a facility.'' DeSantis and Henderson already had sent a letter to Yaroslavsky with a similar request on June 10 and have yet to hear a response. The group's resolution reached Tuesday is expected to be sent to Yaroslavsky in coming weeks. Yaroslavsky spokesman Joel Bellman said the plan is well intended, but not in keeping with the county's mission of providing health care for the indigent indigent 1) n. a person so poor and needy that he/she cannot provide the necessities of life (food, clothing, decent shelter) for himself/herself. 2) n. one without sufficient income to afford a lawyer for defense in a criminal case. and uninsured. The supervisor ``is not prepared to support the request at this time,'' Bellman said. ``Our office is trying to work with the city of Westlake and the surrounding sur·round tr.v. sur·round·ed, sur·round·ing, sur·rounds 1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle. 2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication. n. communities to find a way to assist them in trying to meet what they've identified as their health care needs that is consistent with the county's mission,'' Bellman said. ``Our principal responsibility is not to simply meet health care needs that could be provided by the private sector.'' Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks is tripling its emergency center as part of an expansion plan now under way. But some residents don't feel that expansion is adequate, given the 1996 closing of Westlake Medical Center in Westlake Village. ``It's a continuous concern of ours in the city,'' Henderson said. ``Maybe there are other viable approaches to get closer and more available hospital service for our community.'' Calabasas City Councilwoman Janice Lee supports the need for a nearby hospital so people in the five cities don't have to go to Thousand Oaks, West Hills or Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. for care. Although her city's fire department is equipped with an emergency helicopter, she said the service in no way replaces what residents had available with the former emergency hospital in Westlake Village, she said. ``That was literally time cut in half,'' she said. ``In an emergency you could make it in seven to eight minutes, maybe less depending on traffic. ``I support the notion we need to have a good emergency facility,'' she said. ``And I do think we miss that emergency room that use to operate out of Westlake Village.'' |
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