Closure of Westlake Hospital

A major crime has been committed in the Conejo Valley and it is time that we all become aware of that crime. I am talking about the closing of Westlake Hospital and what that closing has done to the level of health care in our community.

When that facility was purchased by Columbia / HCA and eventually closed down, the level of health care dropped precipitously. I sensed that at the time, but since then I have had two encounters with the health care system (or what is left of it) and so I now know this to be true on a very personal level.

Twice in the past month my father (almost 80) required a stay in the hospital. The first time he had classic symptoms of a heart attack, which led to a 911 call. The paramedics came and announced that they would be taking him to Los Robles Hospital for cardiac care. I drove to the hospital to find no ambulance and only a message left for me at the emergency admitting desk that the paramedics had to be rerouted to Simi Valley Hospital because there were no beds available at Los Robles. For four days, he lay in his hospital bed at Simi Valley, waiting for a bed to become available at Los Robles. The bed never became available and in the meantime, thank goodness, his symptoms subsided.

The second time his doctor ordered him to report to the emergency room at Los Robles to check on signs that indicated a possible stroke. He waited for a total of six hours before a bed became available in the hospital. Neither of these scenarios occurred during the flu epidemic that now fills many hospitals to capacity. Both occurred during “normal” times.

We take great pride in the Conejo about the quality of life and the low crime. But, I repeat, a major crime has been committed against the citizens, and as long as we choose to live with this reality without at least raising our voices in protest, we have a hand in this crime.

ALAN GREENBAUM

Thousand Oaks