Grand Jury Backs County Hospital Renovation

In a resounding endorsement of Ventura County Medical Center’s building plans, the grand jury is expected to release a report this week declaring that several of the hospital’s aging facilities must be replaced to ensure its continued operation.

Concluding a four-month investigation, the grand jury said the medical center’s future is threatened by structural problems at several buildings on the hospital campus in midtown Ventura.

Unless those facilities are renovated or replaced, the grand jury report concludes, the hospital could be forced to shut its doors, resulting in a loss to the county of $14 million a year in state and federal money for indigent care.

To remedy that problem, the grand jury has endorsed a plan, long advanced by county officials, to build a new outpatient wing at the medical center, a project rejected by voters last spring following a contentious campaign financed by neighboring Community Memorial Hospital.

“It’s a ringing endorsement for the county system,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman John Flynn, who sits on the county hospital’s oversight committee. “It will help us move forward with what we have to do to upgrade that facility.”

Although unable to review the grand jury’s findings, a spokesman for Community Memorial discounted the report, saying it was immediately suspect because no one from the private hospital was allowed to testify before the watchdog group.

“I don’t think any investigation that allows testimony or input from only one side in a dispute can be seen as evenhanded,” said spokesman Doug Dowie of the Los Angeles-based public relations firm of Fleishman Hillard.

“We attempted to vigorously provide the grand jury with information during its deliberation and investigation,” he added. “Despite our efforts to meet with the grand jury . . . the grand jury repeatedly refused to meet and refused to allow any of our representatives from appearing.”

Nevertheless, county officials said Tuesday they feel as though they have won some vindication after more than a year of beating the drum in favor of improvements at the public hospital.

In addition, while the report carries no legal weight, county officials said it offers a springboard for revisiting some of the issues as they decide in coming weeks how to shore up the medical center’s faltering facilities.

“I think we can add this to our arsenal of things we can possibly do,” said Supervisor Frank Schillo.

“Here you have a group of independent people, working totally out of the political arena, and for them to come up with this kind of statement is just outstanding,” he added. “Hopefully it will tell the public that what we’ve been saying all along is correct.”

What county officials have said is that they need to improve the delivery of medical services to county hospital patients, consolidating programs under one roof while replacing structures in decay and disrepair.

It has not been an easy sell.

In the past, Community Memorial representatives challenged the county hospital’s attempt to add a new outpatient center in court and at the ballot box, contending that the project was financially risky and part of a larger expansion plan to compete for private, paying hospital patients.

Last spring, the nonprofit, private hospital spent $1.6 million to block construction of the proposed five-story outpatient center at the nearby county hospital, a $56-million project overwhelmingly defeated by voters.

Eight months later, Community Memorial threatened another ballot challenge to a scaled-down project, prompting county supervisors to drop that idea as well.

Most recently, county hospital officials have looked to form a partnership with a private health care chain as a way of beefing up medical services and revenues.

In response, Community Memorial representatives have threatened to launch another ballot drive to halt such an agreement.

But now, with the grand jury report in hand, officials said it could change the way they approach upgrading the 75-year-old county hospital.

The 13-page report focused heavily on the need to shore up existing buildings. The medical laboratory is crowded and grand jurors expressed concern about how that might affect its performance.

The hospital’s kitchen is degraded because of age, its concrete and wood roof structure sagging badly. The Bard Building, which houses administrative offices, is badly contaminated with asbestos, the report said.

The report went on to support a modernization project, endorsed by supervisors in 1995, that would have replaced those buildings, demolished abandoned buildings and provided more parking.

“The argument made against the project was incorrectly characterized as an unnecessary expansion of the hospital capacity,” the report said. “The Grand Jury supports the Ambulatory Care Center Project because of its long-term cost saving potential by providing more effective and efficient medical care to citizens in need, and assuring the long-term operation of the hospital.”

In addition, the grand jury said that county officials should be careful to provide quick, easy-to-understand information to the public in support of the renovation effort.

“The Board of Supervisors and other county officials should clearly and simply state their plans and programs to address county responsibilities and avoid the traditional political harangue associated with debating the issues as defined by opponents,” the report said.