Uneasy Neighbors : Olive View Hospital Acts to Ease Concerns About Traffic, Trash, Strangers

Residents of a tight-knit Sylmar neighborhood have been known to welcome newcomers with a friendly basket of baked goods, neighborly handshakes, even a get-to-know-you block party.

But what’s a neighbor to do when the newcomer is a major county hospital that towers above their homes, bringing 2,000 people a day to their quiet streets and a host of small but potentially troublesome neighborhood problems?

With the first signs of problems arising not more than six months after the Olive View Medical Center opened, nearby residents and hospital administrators have embarked on what both sides hope will be a longstanding “neighborly” approach.

Residents are letting hospital officials know that they have seen a marked increase in traffic cutting through their narrow residential streets and found soiled bandages, used rubber gloves and other trash from the hospital along Olive View Drive. They also say that disoriented patients periodically wander the neighborhood.

The problems prompted a meeting with hospital administrator Douglas Bagley three weeks ago to air complaints. Already, residents say, the hospital has responded.

“I don’t think the community can make demands that are unrealistic,” said Morris Wills, 52, a 14-year resident of the neighborhood. “We realize that at one time we were part of a rural neighborhood, but now are a part of a major metropolitan city.”

Bagley called the facility a “two-edged sword.” It is a modern hospital close to home but also causes neighborhood disruption, he said.

The $120-million, six-story Olive View Medical Center accepted its first patients in May, 16 years after the original Olive View Hospital was destroyed in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. It took so long to rebuild because of shrinking state and county budgets.

During the prolonged construction, a fashionable neighborhood developed in the scenic foothills surrounding the hospital. Much of the residential property is zoned for keeping horses, and neighbors cherish their quiet streets and dirt sidewalks that make easy paths for horseback riding. The entrance to a popular horse path, Wilson Canyon Trail, is alongside Olive View and a horse-crossing sign is posted on Olive View Drive nearby.

“It is a strange situation up here,” said Allen, chairman of the 800-home-strong Olive View Neighborhood Watch. “Where else are you going to find a huge hospital surrounded by a dense neighborhood community with dedicated horse trails?”

Because of the horse-car conflicts and the narrow streets, concerns about traffic top the list of residents’ complaints.

The hospital posted signs on Foothill Freeway off-ramps directing people heading to the facility to take Foothill Boulevard to Roxford or Bledsoe streets. But residents say that drivers, especially during rush hours, avoid busy Foothill Boulevard and take a shorter route that zig-zags through their neighborhood.

“Just imagine our quiet little streets,” said Albert Jones, 67, who has lived in the neighborhood 24 years. “The only traffic we had was residents driving to and from work and weekend shopping trips. Now in the morning you have to wait for 20, 30 cars to pass before you can leave your driveway.”

The Los Angeles Transportation Department responded to complaints by posting several stop signs that “at least slow down the traffic,” Jones said. Residents said they will petition the city for a traffic signal at Bledsoe Street and Foothill Boulevard to make it easier to travel on Bledsoe to and from the hospital.

Also, they have requested that hospital administrators encourage employees to take main streets. Bagley said that many Olive View employees live in the neighborhood and are simply taking the quickest route to work.

Hospital Rubbish

Hannah Dyke, 53, a 12-year resident of the neighborhood, said she became alarmed while walking Olive View Drive recently when she noticed a used intravenous bottle, old rubber gloves and a beer can wrapped in hospital tape.

“Wouldn’t if bother you to find these items on your neighborhood streets?” Dyke said. “They may be contaminated with germs.”

She and other neighbors said they have been finding the debris for several months. They blame the problem on open bins on hospital grounds and on disposal trucks. Hospital officials said part of the problem will be solved next week, when an indoor trash compactor replaces outdoor bins.

Hospital employees are helping trash-truck operators cover the bins with a tarp before they are hauled away. Previously the haulers refused to cover the bins because they would be forced to walk atop piles of what they believed to be unhealthful hospital trash.

Residents conducted a neighborhood cleanup last weekend. “We know at this point that everything is clean. So it will be up to us to monitor the problem to see if it sprouts up again,” Dyke said.

Disoriented Wanderers

There also have been several instances of confused and disoriented people, who residents believe to be released hospital patients, wandering through the neighborhood. Bill Storey said he found a woman sleeping under bushes in his yard.

Allen said another man wearing trousers and a hospital gown passed near his house and paramedics were summoned. Other residents said they have been approached by transients walking along streets asking for money.

“When you see people wandering down your streets, you wonder what’s going on,” Will said. “I think it has shocked some people.”

Bagley said there has only been one reported instance of an admitted hospital patient wandering into the neighborhood, although “there might have been other occasions involving a discharged patient.” Bagley told residents to call hospital security if they see a person who may be from the hospital.

Some in Sylmar believe the residents are exaggerating their complaints.

“It’s overkill, in my estimation,” said Ed Cholakian, president of the Sylmar Chamber of Commerce. “It’s no secret that they were building a hospital in Sylmar, and it was there long before most of these residents were. We are fortunate to have such a magnificent facility in our community.”