SENIORS TRY TO SAVE HIGH DESERT HOSPITAL.Byline: BETTIE RENCORET Senior columnist PALMDALE - More than 8,500 signatures on petitions protesting the proposed closing of High Desert Hospital were collected thanks to the efforts of three senior citizens. The petitions, presented last week to aides to Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San , began when Ann Chisholm, Evelyn Daniel and Gloria Kositchek heard Dr. S Dr. Doctor. dr. dram. . E. Moorthy describe the health care crisis facing the Antelope Valley. ``We wanted to do something about it,'' said Daniel, 80, ``but what could old broads do? We almost simultaneously said, well, we could at least circulate petitions.'' So starting March 8 they set up tables outside post offices, a Department of Motor Vehicles In the United States of America, Department of Motor Vehicles (or DMV) is a commonly used name of the government agency of a U.S. state which administers the registration of automobiles (e.g., by issuing license plates), and/or the licensing of drivers (e.g. office and Wal-Mart stores and began getting signatures. Then they distributed blank petitions to other people, and the drive was well under way. ``When people heard what the petitions were all about, they gathered in droves and stood in line to put their names on them,'' said Chisholm, 81. ``A lot of people weren't aware of what was going on and that the community needs to communicate its feelings to the Board of Supervisors,'' Daniel said. Many churches helped get signatures, they said. And more petitions are still circulating. ``We'll have more as soon as we can round the rest of them up,'' Chisholm said. Sitting last week in the Palmdale office of Antonovich aide Norm Hickling, Chisholm read the letter written with the petitions to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district, the current members as of April 2006 are:
The letter said the signatures were from residents ``who are extremely concerned about the ensuing medical care crisis if this closure is allowed to happen.'' The letter also requested that Antonovich and the board communicate and work with state and federal agencies to make them aware of the seriousness of this problem. ``The impact extends far beyond the extent of the immediate community of the Antelope Valley. Your full cooperation is desperately needed,'' the letter says. Copies were sent to Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Reps. William Thomas and Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, Gov. Gray Davis, state Sen. William ``Pete'' Knight, Assemblywoman Sharon Runner and all five supervisors. Hickling promised to deliver the petitions to Antonovich and said the supervisor supports saving High Desert. ``I can assure you that the supervisor is doing everything he possibly can to keep the hospital open,'' Hickling said. ``He's working with the folks at Antelope Valley Hospital and the folks at Lancaster Community Hospital This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. . ... Most of the local doctors have the same concerns that you have. Supervisor Antonovich is working with Congressman Thomas' office, Buck McKeon's office, our state legislators, everybody he can.'' The key, Hickling said, lies in involving local medical groups, the other hospitals and other organizations in the public-private partnership proposed six months ago to draw new revenue into High Desert. ``There's no question that we can do this,'' said Tom Craft, a leader of the local effort to save High Desert. Menus for the week at the senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster,Palmdale and South Valley have been announced. All meals include bread, margarine, and coffee, tea or milk for a suggested donation of $2. Monday: Fish fillet fillet /fil·let/ (fil´et) 1. a loop, as of cord or tape, for making traction on the fetus. 2. in the nervous system, a long band of nerve fibers. fil·let n. 1. , au gratin potatoes, parsleyed carrots, three bean salad, orange juice, fruit cocktail. Tuesday: Garlic ginger chicken, baked potato, butternut butternut: see walnut. butternut Deciduous nut-producing tree (Juglans cinerea) of the walnut family, native to eastern North America. A mature tree has gray, deeply furrowed bark. squash, coleslaw cole·slaw also cole slaw n. A salad of finely shredded raw cabbage and sometimes shredded carrots, dressed with mayonnaise or a vinaigrette. , apple. Wednesday: Turkey with gravy, bread dressing, spinach, garden salad, pineapple juice, peach crisp. Thursday: Roast pork, sweet potatoes, stewed stewed adj. 1. Cooked by stewing: stewed prunes. 2. Informal Intoxicated; drunk. stewed Adjective 1. tomatoes, cottage cheese cottage cheese a soft, uncured cheese made from soured skim milk; most of the lactose is removed with the whey. Used in low-residue diets for dogs and cats. with pineapple, white cake. Friday: Taco salad, macaroni salad, pea salad, apple juice, vanilla ice cream. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ann Chisholm, 81, left, and Evelyn Daniel, 80, work to keep High Desert Hospital open. The pair helped organize a petition drive to protest the proposed closing. Bettie Rencoret/Special to the Daily News |
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