Talks on Saving Santa Paula’s Hospital Delayed

Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and Ventura County negotiators delayed Tuesday a key meeting to discuss a deal to absorb the failing medical center into the county health-care system, frustrating city officials who said the urgency of finding a solution was not being recognized.

The delay, perhaps until the new year, temporarily halted movement toward reopening the only emergency room between Santa Clarita and Ventura and restoring full hospital services by summer.

And that’s not good enough, said city officials in Santa Paula and Fillmore.

“This is just not acceptable,” said Wally Bobkiewicz, city manager of Santa Paula.

Added Fillmore City Councilwoman Cecilia Cuevas, “It’s really a life-and-death situation for our residents. Fillmore is 45 minutes away from alternate emergency services.”

Bobkiewicz, Cuevas, Fillmore City Manager Roy Payne and Santa Paula City Councilwoman Mary Ann Krause -- the cities’ mediation team in the hospital talks -- said they decided at an emergency meeting Tuesday night that their cities must try to arrange medical services for the 50,000 residents of the Santa Clara Valley and not wait for the county and the community hospital to reach an agreement.

“We have to be the catalyst,” Bobkiewicz said.

The cities will begin today to contact county officials and representatives of area hospitals to see what can be done quickly, they said.

Short-staffed as a result of a huge debt, the Santa Paula hospital emergency room shut down Thursday. The entire hospital is set to close Friday, which would have occurred regardless of what negotiators eventually decide, officials said.

Hospital trustees postponed the meeting after county negotiators asked them Tuesday afternoon to provide more financial information at the evening session. The county was prepared to meet, but the trustees said they saw no point.

The delay frustrated hospital and county officials, who have tried unsuccessfully for six months to keep the hospital open and now are seeing if there is a cost-efficient way to resurrect it.

Saddled with nearly $8 million in debt, the hospital announced two weeks ago that it would suspend services Dec. 19 after 42 years of operation, eliminating about 200 part- and full-time jobs.