SURGEONS, A.V. FACILITY REACH DEAL.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Emergency orthopedic surgery services at Antelope Valley Hospital resumed over the weekend after the hospital's board chairman assured surgeons more pay.

Dr. Abdallah Farrukh said he used his authority as chairman to double the orthopedic surgeons' on-call daily pay rate to $1,500 a day, citing the welfare of patients.

``If I see the endangerment of patients' health, then I can step in and this is how you can stop it,'' Farrukh said.

A board meeting will probably be held next week to ratify Farrukh's actions, hospital administrators said.

Orthopedic services were suspended in August because there were not enough orthopedic surgeons to provide on-call services in the emergency room.

The suspension meant that emergency-room patients needing orthopedic surgery - such as for a badly broken bone - were being sent to Lancaster Community Hospital or out of the Antelope Valley.

On-call coverage was restored through a series of telephone calls late Friday between Farrukh, hospital director June Snow and one of the orthopedic physicians.

The calls followed a Friday morning board meeting at which orthopedic emergency room coverage was left up in the air because of a dispute among officials over whether the vote on the issue was valid.

The vote was 2-0 to allow three orthopedic doctors to work 15 to 21 days a month, with other conditions. As director Steve Fox was making a motion to vote on the proposal - or after he did, in Fox's opinion - Snow walked out of the room.

Farrukh and Fox then voted 2-0 in favor of reopening the service, but hospital attorney Tom Ward said the vote was not valid because there was no majority when the vote occurred.

Fox argued that the vote should count because a majority of the board was present when the motion was made.

Snow said she left before the vote was taken because she wanted more information on whether a 15-day coverage would affect the hospital's ability to transfer patients to other hospitals.

After the board meeting, she said, she spoke with a state Department of Health Services official, who told her that the hospital could have partial coverage and still transfer patients to other hospitals.

Snow then called Farrukh, who then talked with orthopedic physician Dr. Ghol Ha'Eri, who agreed to take on the Labor Day weekend on-call, officials said.

Hospital Chief Executive Officer Les Wong said Farrukh was acting out of a concern that there would be no coverage over the three-day weekend.

Wong said he has authority to pay for the increased on-call pay up to a $50,000 limit without board approval and that he would be meeting with the orthopedic physicians to discuss the details of the coverage.

Issues to be discussed include whether the orthopedic on-call doctors will come in for consultations. The doctors also want the hospital to set up transfer agreements under which Antelope Valley Hospital would pay the accepting hospital for the patient's care, Farrukh said.

The doctors also wanted the hospital to pay for the care of uninsured patients on days when there is no emergency room coverage and an orthopedic physician is called in, Farrukh said.