Proposition 99: ‘The Big Raid’

In six years as chief engineer and general manager of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, I have never felt more impelled to address the public on a pending community peril as I do now. Recent trauma care events in our city and surrounding areas have convinced me that lives are in grave jeopardy.

By way of example, on Jan. 25, in the middle of the week, eight trauma care centers temporarily closed due to saturation and diverted our paramedic units away from their vitally needed services. The closure of 19 emergency rooms on the same day, and for the same reason, further exacerbated the situation. We are drastically extending our precious transport time, delivering trauma patients to more distant emergency facilities. To compound matters, our fire companies that respond to many Emergency Medical Services calls, as well as to fire and similar emergency incidents, are less available due to this rapidly deteriorating situation. Further hospital closures that appear imminent, according to health officials, could cause our city’s EMS system to suffer cardiac arrest!

Since 1983, eight of our original trauma centers have closed permanently due to lack of funds for the medically indigent. With the recent announcements that the governor has reduced the proposed 1989 budget for medically indigent funds by $27 million and the inability of the county to continue its funding, many other hospitals have discussed closing. If this happens, our increased paramedic transport and out-of-service time spans will place traumatized citizens in mortal peril needlessly. The county does not have the financial resources to make up the losses of every hospital in the system. The state, however, does have funds available from Proposition 99, but the governor has diverted these funds for other purposes.

I have written the governor, urging him to redress the emergency room closure problems by utilizing the tobacco tax funds. You can help change his mind on this vital matter by also writing to him.

DONALD O. MANNING

Los Angeles City Fire Dept.