Hospital's restructure not painless

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press March 24, 2001.

By BOB WILSON
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER - High Desert Hospital administrators have submitted a plan to "restructure" its care-delivery system in an attempt to avoid complete closure.

The Los Angeles County Health Department announced last week that the hospital may have to close because of financial difficulties.

The restructuring "will have some pain involved with it," hospital Chief Administrative Officer Mel Grussing said Friday at a joint meeting between Lancaster officials and 5th District county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who represents the Antelope Valley.

"On the other hand, we will be able to keep the key entities open and bring additional revenue in (by) working with state prisons, with the Sheriff's Department, and (with) the private prison in California City as well as the prison up in Tehachapi," Grussing said.

"There is some real interest in this (plan) now because we will be able to bring new revenue into the hospital system in order to keep the indigent care open," he said.

"We've been working with the Community Advisory Board on this for six to eight months ... and I think the process looks very good," he said.

"I think that the articles that came out in the newspapers may trigger a turn-around in some of the thinking that is occurring downtown, but we need to be vigilant and strong to make sure we keep what's needed up here in the Antelope Valley and get a chance to put together that restructure," Grussing said.

If High Desert Hospital closes, the clinics it helps run in Palmdale, Lake Los Angeles and Littlerock also will close, he said, noting that those clinics handle approximately 105,000 patient visits each year.

Neither Grussing nor Lancaster Councilman Henry Hearns, who chairs the hospital's Community Advisory Board, could be reached later for more information concerning the proposed restructuring.

During the meeting with Antonovich, Hearns and Lancaster City Manager Jim Gilley each pledged the city's support toward convincing the other members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to keep local service available.

"You just need to bring us in where you think it's best," Gilley said.

Antonovich said he expects the county to hire a new director for its Department of Health Services no later than the early part of the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The previous director, Mark Finucane, has tendered his resignation, effective June 30.

Finucane submitted his resignation on March 13 after presenting a plan intended to reduce health-department operating losses that could reach $888 million during the next five years.

Under the plan, if cost-reduction objectives were not met through consolidations, layoffs and privatization steps, Finucane proposed closing High Desert Hospital in Lancaster.

Antonovich said those interested in keeping High Desert open "will have to pull together, but we don't know what's at the end of the tunnel - it might be a wall or a light."

"This is a state-federal issue, an immigration issue, (obtaining) reimbursements for those costs, which are draining the resources out of the community," the supervisor said.