Countywide : Trauma Network Will Be Studied by Panel

Orange County health officials said Tuesday that they will form a panel to study how to provide high-quality emergency medical care after the Fountain Valley trauma center closes in December.

Citing unpaid patient bills and problems in keeping a neurosurgeon on staff, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center last month became the third hospital since 1983 to drop out of the county’s trauma network.

Its departure leaves the county with only three centers for critically injured patients: Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, UCI Medical Center in Orange and United Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

Some health experts have warned that without Fountain Valley, trauma victims in northwest Orange County may have to wait longer and travel farther for care, and could die as a result. But several trauma specialists said Tuesday that the emergency network could be revamped to avoid a decrease in the level of patient care.

Dr. John Parker of Placentia-Linda Community Hospital suggested that the county could get by with two trauma centers if it upgraded emergency care at the best community hospitals. He suggested requiring such hospitals to provide blood banks and hire more doctors specializing in emergency medicine.

Dr. Robert Bade, medical director of Orange County Emergency Medical Services, said he would prefer to attract a fourth trauma center to replace Fountain Valley. However, Bade rejected the notion that medical care would worsen with only three.

“This talk of the system crumbling and people dying--I just don’t see it,” he said.

About 15 local trauma specialists will be invited to form a committee to advise the county on how best to proceed. County officials said they hoped to have recommendations by early November.