PARTNERS TO RELIEVE GAP IN PALMDALE HEALTH CARE; AGENCIES AGREE TO OPEN BASIC-NEEDS CLINIC IN CITY WITHOUT HOSPITAL.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Eighteen months after Palmdale's only hospital closed, Antelope Valley Hospital, Los Angeles County and the city announced an agreement to open a clinic offering basic medical care.

Scheduled to open Nov. 1, the primary care clinic will provide medical care on an appointment and walk-in basis Mondays through Fridays between noon and 8:30 p.m.

``Ever since the hospital closed in Palmdale, we've been looking at ways to get health care out in the city of Palmdale,'' said Mel Grussing, administrator of the county-run High Desert Hospital. ``It's a good partnership. I'm glad to see different entities working for the people of Palmdale.''

Under a five-year agreement, Antelope Valley Hospital will lease 4,600 square feet of office space in a building at 1529 E. Palmdale Blvd. and then sublease the facility to the county at $1 a year.

The hospital is leasing the space at a cost of $311,000 over a three-year period, with an option to renew for two more years, hospital officials said. The building already houses Antelope Valley Hospital's prenatal clinic and Women and Infant Children nutrition program.

The county will staff the clinic with about eight people, including physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners, who will be shifted from High Desert, Grussing said.

``We will have the ability to see patients for primary care and people who are working,'' Grussing said. ``As our budget and demand increases, we are looking to increasing hours.''

The hospital board voted 3-0 to approve the plan at Wednesday's meeting. Directors Shirley Sayles and Dr. John Manning were absent.

The city of Palmdale has agreed to contribute $20,000 to help purchase equipment for the clinic, ranging from exam tables to office furniture, hospital officials said. The City Council will consider the proposal at its Oct. 8 meeting.

The plan also needs approval of the Board of Supervisors.

Discussions about providing health care services in Palmdale and surrounding areas began after Desert Palms Community Hospital closed in March 1996, making Palmdale the biggest city in California without a hospital.

Antelope Valley Hospital spokesman Gary Cothran said the hospital board has hired a consultant to study health care requirements in the south valley.

``The study will look at the needs and give us direction on what services needs to be developed,'' Cothran said. ``Secondly, it will allow us to say, `Here are things we can possibly do by ourselves.' For things we can't do by ourselves, we can seek partners.''

Sayles said in a written statement issued Thursday that the clinic agreement is groundbreaking in its approach to combining local resources and increasing access to much-needed medical care.

``We believe this is a great beginning, one that will provide basic medical care and a safety net to the citizens of Palmdale,'' Sayles said.