Partnership Talks Irk Hospital

As Ventura County hospital officials look to form a partnership with a private health care chain, representatives of rival Community Memorial Hospital said Wednesday that they would consider a ballot drive to halt such an agreement.

“The county is a public entity that derives its power from the people, and at the end of the day the people should have their say,” said Steven Merksamer, a Community Memorial attorney.

County officials have been discussing a partnership with Catholic Healthcare West, which operates St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, and with Columbia HCA, which runs Columbia Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks.

County Health Care Agency Director Pierre Durand, who heads up those talks, said recently that a deal with one of the chains could be forthcoming as early as this month.

But Merksamer said local taxpayers would be better served by an arrangement between the county and Community Memorial, a nonprofit independently operated hospital located two blocks from Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura.

By comparison, a county deal with either of the giant hospital chains--with corporate headquarters outside of the area--would mean losing local control of services, he said.

“Is that in the public interest?” Merksamer asked.

County officials said Merksamer was making assumptions about a partnership that does not exist yet. They said the county would be careful to protect its interests.

“Believe me, whatever we do, we are not going to lose control,” said Supervisor John K. Flynn. “I think Community Memorial may just be grasping at straws. They’re using this as a tactic to serve them because it puts fear into people.”

The threatened ballot referendum on a county partnership would be the latest in a series of legal and political challenges from Community Memorial.

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Last spring, the private hospital spent $1.6 million to block construction of a new wing at the county hospital. Last fall, the rival hospital threatened another ballot challenge to a scaled-down addition, and county supervisors dropped the idea.

A referendum would give final say on a county partnership with a national chain to voters if it qualified for the ballot. But county lawyers said the partnership could be written in such a way that the deal would not be subject to voter approval.

Supervisors Judy Mikels and Frank Schillo said the county has already talked with Community Memorial officials about a partnership, but that the two sides could not reach an agreement. So the county is exploring other options.

“If they want to bring something forward that’s realistic, then I think we might be willing to listen,” Mikels said. “But I don’t think that’s their objective.”

Mikels was referring to an earlier offer by Community Memorial. The plan called for the county hospital to be converted to an outpatient center leased to Community Memorial, which would handle all services for patients in the hospital.

As part of the deal, Community Memorial would contribute $5 million a year to the cost of treating indigent patients. It would spend another $3 million on building improvements needed at the 75-year-old county hospital.

In addition, a joint-management organization would be set up to oversee and coordinate services at both hospitals. The organization would include representatives from both the county and Community Memorial.

Merksamer and other Community Memorial attorneys and consultants told reporters at a Ventura hotel Wednesday that the county had never formally responded to their offer. They said the county has a responsibility to taxpayers to consider the proposal or resume talks.

But after meeting with Community Memorial officials last year, Schillo said he is convinced that the hospital simply wants to shut down the county medical center, and that is not acceptable.

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He said that the county provides about $20 million in annual care to the poor and uninsured patients and cannot afford to lose control of that safety net.

County officials also said that Columbia HCA and Tenet Health Care Corp., another giant hospital chain, have been talking with Community Memorial about a partnership or merger.

Although Community Memorial would not confirm any negotiations, a representative for Columbia said Wednesday he is conducting ongoing talks with the hospital.

“We still have an interest in Community Memorial,” said Jeffrey Winter, vice president of development for the Tennessee-based Columbia hospital chain. “Those discussions are ongoing. But that’s not to say we’ve ruled out any other interests.”

Winter said that a Community Memorial referendum would have to be considered in any deal with the county, however. He added that he has not had discussions with county officials in two months.

Tenet and Catholic Healthcare officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.