Hospital Chief Praises Staff for Quake Response

* The 6.6 earthquake that arrived at 4:31 in the morning on Jan. 17 has affected our community and its residents, some severely. Many needed to take action to save their lives and those of their families.

I am a physician in private practice in the San Fernando Valley and serve as chief of staff at West Valley Hospital & Health Center in Canoga Park.

I want to personally and publicly praise the medical staff and hospital staff of West Valley Hospital for their heroic services during this disaster. Within minutes, the on-duty staff assessed and stabilized the patient population and hospital structure and put the triage code into effect. The additional physicians, nurses and other hospital staff members arrived within the hour following the earthquake to assist with the influx of hundreds of injured community residents.

IRENE FAUST

Canoga Park