TAKE IT UNDER THEIR WING RESIDENTS WORK TO MAKE HOSPITAL EXPANSION REALITY.Byline: Grace Lee Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - Fund-raising efforts to complete a $35 million patient-care tower at Simi Valley Hospital Simi Valley Hospital (SVH) is a Seventh-day Adventist hospital located located in Simi Valley, California. SVH is a member of Adventist Health. New Construction Simi Valley Hospital is in the process of building a new wing to the hospital. are building momentum, officials say, despite a sagging economy and market forces that have squeezed many of the region's medical centers. Officials broke ground in December on the four-story, 170-bed wing, which will include a cardiology diagnostic department and a neonatal intensive-care unit. The unit is expected to open in July 2005. ``The community needs and wants more from the hospital, and the hospital realizes it needs to grow and give back to the community as well,'' said Debi Shultze, chairwoman of the Simi Valley Hospital Foundation board. The Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical provided a $16 million grant, and the hospital's parent company, Adventist Health, pledged $10 million. The hospital foundation is working to raise the remaining $9 million. The fund raising, still in its beginning stages, is going ``quite well,'' Shultze said. Last month, a fashion fund-raiser drew three times the number of attendees as last year's event and raised $22,000. Last year's sold-out golf tournament, which will be held again this month, brought in more than $100,000. So far, the foundation has raised $350,000, but the most lucrative fund-raising opportunities will happen in the coming months, officials said. ``The biggest part of the capital campaign is actually soliciting donors, and we're at that level where we're just beginning to start,'' Shultze said. Naming parts of the hospital for donors brings in some of the largest gifts, she said. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Shultze, a slumping economy has not dragged down the Simi Valley fund-raising effort. Nor have market forces that have stressed area hospitals hindered the multimillion-dollar expansion. Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. Memorial Hospital struggled to keep its doors open as it sought donations from the community the past few months. Finally, it entered negotiations - still under way - with Ventura County Medical Center Ventura County Medical Center is a hospital in the city of Ventura, California, USA. It is a 208 bed acute care hospital. The county also operates a 49 bed campus in Santa Paula. in hoping to form an alliance to stay open. The closure of Westlake Hospital has left a gap in patient-care services in the eastern Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by . Several officials in the region have explored options to bring a hospital into the community. In 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, Granada Hills Community Hospital closed this year after a federal bankruptcy judge deemed the medical center fiscally unfit for business. Jan Emerson, vice president of external affairs at the California Health Care Association, said hospitals fall into two categories: those closing and those expanding. New state earthquake standards require hospitals to spend $24 billion to retrofit their facilities within the next five years. The added costs come when more than half of hospitals operate in the red. The reasons, Emerson said, include the cost of treating the uninsured, the rising cost of treating all patients, and low reimbursements for Medicare and Medi-Cal patients. Shultze said she is grateful that the hospital's parent company has invested in the expansion. ``They decided our community is where they should invest their money and have a state-of-the-art environment. We're lucky. Granada Hills Community Hospital closed down and that was right in our back yard,'' Shultze said. She also credited the community for trusting in Simi Valley Hospital. Residents seek care from the hospital, turning to other medical centers only when the absence of a cardiology department or a neonatal intensive care unit Noun 1. neonatal intensive care unit - an intensive care unit designed with special equipment to care for premature or seriously ill newborn NICU ICU, intensive care unit - a hospital unit staffed and equipped to provide intensive care gives them no choice, she said. That scenario contrasts with that of Santa Paula Memorial Hospital, where community leaders and hospital officials said the low-patient numbers contributed to their fiscal problems. For Simi Valley Mayor Bill Davis For the artist, animator, creative director, see . For the baseball player, see .
``We'll have the ability to have work done in our city rather than go outside. The city is now large enough and requires a full-service hospital. The only way to do that is to expand,'' he said. Grace Lee, (805) 662-6757 grace.lee(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Simi Valley Hospital's four-story, 170-bed addition, at a cost of $35 million, is expected to be open in July 2005. |
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