Supervisors OK 1st AIDS Ward at County-USC

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today to establish the first AIDS ward in Los Angeles at County-USC Medical Center, which cares for more AIDS patients than any other county hospital.

The supervisors, however, put off a vote on a controversial plan to distribute bleach and condoms to intravenous drug users, a measure supporters say would help slow the spread of the deadly disease.

The plan to create a specialized AIDS ward at County-USC will not mean additional beds at the medical facility but will require the hospital to shuffle existing beds so that patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome can be cared for and housed in one area, said Robert C. Gates, director of the county Department of Health Services.

Clinic Vote Withheld

“We’re very pleased,” said Margie Edwards, a member of ACT UP/LA, a group that has pushed for the ward, after the board’s 3-0 vote.

In other action today, the board, uncertain whether property tax revenues will be as high as projected, withheld taking a vote that would have set aside $24 million to keep 13 outpatient mental health clinics open.

Supervisor Ed Edelman urged the postponement pending final confirmation by county officials that County Assessor John Lynch’s projection of an additional $50 million in property tax revenue was indeed accurate.

County Chief Administrative Officer Richard Dixon has said a preliminary analysis of the assessor’s data indicates that the revenue from the property tax windfall could be much lower, about $10 million to $15 million.

Figures Being Analyzed

At the supervisors’ meeting, however, Dixon’s chief deputy, Mary Jung, backed away from giving an estimate, saying officials are still analyzing the figures, which should be ready by next week.

She added, “As you know, our office tends to be conservative” on such estimates.