Doctors Group Seeks OK for New Hospital

A group of local doctors is hoping to get approval from the City Council and state health officials to build a $20-million private hospital.

Plans for Thousand Oaks Surgical Hospital--a 40,000-square-foot surgical center that would be built at Rolling Oaks and Los Padres drives--include upscale private rooms with TVs, refrigerators and sleeper sofas for guests.

The group of 40 founding doctors says the new hospital would ease overcrowding at Los Robles Regional Medical Center, one of two facilities in the Conejo Valley equipped for major surgery.

The other is Los Robles Surgicenter, which is run by the medical center.

But Los Robles officials say the proposed surgical hospital could ultimately hurt the full-service hospital’s ability to care for the community.

“Whenever you have a high-end hospital come in and take the most profitable cases from the community hospital, it prohibits the community hospital’s ability to take charity care,” said Bill Nolan, Los Robles’ associate administrator.

The doctors will make their case for the new hospital with the City Council on Feb. 1. The doctors group is putting up $10 million for the project. The rest of the funding comes from Fresno-based FSC Health Inc., which operates the similar Fresno Surgery Center.

Dr. Patrick Reiten, a member of the joint operating committee for the proposed hospital, said the new facility would complement Los Robles.

“We’re expecting to be profitable, but we’re expecting Los Robles to be profitable as well,” Reiten said. “The community is growing so rapidly, we’re just trying to meet the needs of patients.”