Judge Backs Quick Sale of Westlake Hospital

The sale of Westlake Medical Center must take place immediately, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday, despite the reluctance of owner Columbia/HCA to pass the deed to Salick Health Care Inc.

Judge Diane Wayne’s ruling leaves the Tennessee-based conglomerate with no other choice than to sell Westlake for the $8.15-million price negotiated in a March 1995 contract.

But the issue of whether Salick will be able to run an emergency room--something many residents fervently desire--remains unsettled. It cannot be resolved without further litigation because the sales contract specifically restricts the cancer specialists from expanding into acute care.

Without an acute-care facility, it would be medically impossible to have an emergency room; patients could get urgent attention but would have to be sent to another hospital for continued care.

After the hearing, Dr. Bernard Salick, chief executive officer of Salick Health Care, stopped short of saying he would push ahead with litigation to force changes in the contract. But publicly, he was more forceful than usual in speaking about Columbia’s reasons for resisting the sale.

“They don’t want another hospital in the area,” Salick said indignantly. “Isn’t that obvious by now? This is just chicanery and typical Columbia behavior.”

He cited the number of residents--5,800 from Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and outlying areas--who signed petitions favoring emergency service at the hospital. He presented the petitions to the judge Thursday.

“Can [Columbia/HCA] really restrict what goes on in a hospital despite what the community wants?” Salick asked. “We’re not going to let them get away with it. . . . You can be sure this is just the first step. It’s not over.

“Let them sue us if they think we are such terrible people.”

Columbia’s attorney, Jay N. Hartz, said the $8.15-million transaction will probably take place “within days.”

Hartz said he had “no clue” about whether his client would challenge Salick to further legal battles. “Our guys might say, ‘Who wants to spend more money on it?’ ” he said.

Columbia’s ownership of two other area hospitals--Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks and West Hills Medical Center--has ignited fierce speculation in the community that the giant conglomerate wants Westlake shut down so it would pose no competitive threat to the other hospitals.

But Columbia officials have repeatedly denied that the company is motivated by a desire to suppress competition, saying instead that Westlake had ceased to be profitable. In court Thursday, Hartz said the company is losing $5 million a year at Westlake.

The sale was to have been final on July 3, but negotiations between the two companies broke down at the last minute. The emergency room was shut down July 2, prompting hundreds of community members to turn out for a protest the next morning.

At that time, a Salick representative informed the elated protesters that Judge Wayne had granted a temporary restraining order to keep the hospital at “status quo” for two weeks while negotiations continued. Columbia’s interpretation of that order was that it was not required to reopen the already-closed emergency room.

By all accounts, negotiations between the two companies have been painfully protracted. While Hartz was arguing against Wayne’s ruling, he told the judge there were too many issues outstanding in the “endless” contract negotiations to proceed with the sale.

“There are disputes about everything under the sun,” Hartz said.

Before making her final ruling, Wayne offered to mediate in the negotiations. But Hartz said that probably would not have made a difference.

“If you had Solomon sitting between them, I don’t think it could be resolved,” he said.

One of the sticking points is an MRI unit on the property. Columbia wants to leave the diagnostic equipment there, but Salick wants to replace it with upgraded equipment.

Thursday, Salick’s attorney, Richard R. Mainland, was quick to tell the judge that Salick was willing to concede on all the disputed points.

“Believe me, this sale will close without dispute under this order,” Mainland told Wayne.