By DAVID ROSS
What might have happened if last year’s fire had cut off all roads leading into VC?
How would acute medical emergencies have been treated?
That stark question and its haunting possible answer is one reason that the Palomar Pomerado Health system proposes to put a 24-hour urgent care facility in Valley Center.
Prop. BB, which asks for nearly half a billion dollars from the voters will, among other things, fund such a center here. Of course, that’s just a small portion of what the bond will pay for.
This week The Roadrunner talked to hospital system board member Marcello Rivera and district CEO Michael Covert about the proposed expansion.
The $496 million bond, which requires a two thirds majority to pass, will also renovate Palomar Medical Center. It will make it earthquake safe, according to the requirements of California’s SB 1953, which is costing governments up and down the state about $20 billion.
The renovation will change Palomar’s mission from the region’s trauma center to a specialty care hospital that will offer orthopedic services, urgent and in-patient care.
“We intend to have services equivalent to any hospital in the United States,” according to hospital board member Marcello Rivera.
A new state-of-the-art trauma center, tentatively called Palomar Hospital West, with nearly 500 beds, will be located near Hwy 78 and I-15. Some sites under consideration are the Escondido Tech Park, Deer Springs, and the defunct K-Mart shopping center. One criteria for consideration was that they be 30-40 acres.
A decision where to locate the hospital will be made after the beginning of 2005.
Palomar Pomerado Health System serves a 400-square mile area that goes as far east as Borrego Springs and includes communities such as Escondido, Poway, Ramona, Valley Center, Pauma Valley, San Marcos and much of the Backcountry.
The health care system is operating beyond capacity. By 5 a.m. on just about any day, the beds are full.
On the positive side the district has, for several years, run at a profit ($15 million this year) and has a A bond rating.
Being in the black allows the district to raise funds and generate revenue bonds that can be paid for out of operations, according to CEO Michael Covert.
It can’t use its cash reserves to build its needed facilities because it would lose that A rating and it wouldn’t have the funds to equip the buildings.
The bond will add $17.75 in property tax for each $100,000 of assessed valuation. The money can only be used for construction, not salaries or benefits.
The existing Palomar Medical Center has no adjacent land that it can buy and has only three undeveloped acres. Built in the 1950s, it doesn’t meet current earthquake standards. If the bond passes, its towners will be torn down and its function will be redefined as part of a $72 million overhaul.
Pomerado Hospital, which was built after current earthquake standards were adopted, will add 470 beds, doubling the size of trauma services available there.
Four community urgent care health centers will be built in Valley Center, Ramona, Rancho Penasquitos and San Marcos. About $10 million has been set aside for the four clinics, with $2.5 earmarked for Valley Center.
CEO Covert told The Roadrunner, “Our goal is to be able to provide urgent care, ‘lump and bump’, while life threatening cases would be taken to nearest emergency room.”
Rivera, a Ramona physician who is also running for reelection to the hospital board, visited the VC fire board meeting Thursday to make a presentation on Prop. BB.
“We look upon Valley Center and Ramona as the next growth areas,” Dr. Rivera told the board. “I personally see Ramona and Valley Center as brother and sister communities.”
The hospital board sees Valley Center as a central location to serve several outlying communities.
“When I saw the average home price here I almost fell off my seat. From a business point of view we need to have a presence here,” he said.
“You know the growth in Valley Center. You know that no matter what happens that in the next ten to 15 years this area is going to grow by thirty to forty percent.”
The district was also prompted to put a community medical center in VC by what could have happened if VC had been cut off during the Paradise Fire last October.
“We’re looking at Valley Center because of what happened in the fires. If this road [Valley Center Road] had been closed nothing could have gotten in or out of here,” said Rivera.
The 7/24 center will also take pressure off from the trauma center by treating patients with cuts, broken arms, abdominal pains, flu, strep throat or bad colds.
“If patients who fit into that category can be seen here in Valley Center they won’t clog up the emergency rooms,” said Rivera.
“I would envision that you have a citizen of Valley Center who complains of chest pain. If you have an urgent care center in Valley Center such patients could be taken to urgent care and evaluated. If it’s a benign problem they go home. If it’s serious, they call the new hospital and transport them there,” he said.
It’s also a lot cheaper for people who are not insured to be treated in a community health clinic, as opposed to walking into the emergency entrance. That’s about 60% of solitary patients, according to Covert.
The local clinics will also provide a diabetic program, wound care program, lab and radiology support, and the potential for treatment rooms in case there are specialists available, says Covert.
The VC hospital’s exact location will have to be determined.Valley Center’s ground water problems creates special challenges for locating a facility, he says.
“The board has looked at several sites. It has directed me not to make commitments until after the issue is passed,” says Covert.
The “when” of a VC clinic is also up in the air.
The size of the clinic will be between 4,000-8,000 sq. ft, depending on the needs of the community.
Or, as Dr. Rivera said Thursday night, “Ramona’s site is ready and Peñasquitos will come second. Valley Center we know will take time.”
The bond has the support of the San Diego League of Women Voters, a neutral position from the San Diego Taxpayers Assn. and support from most of the area Chambers of Commerce.
To learn more, visit the hospital web site at http://www.pph.org .
By DAVID ROSS
The VC fire board voted Thursday to negotiate a contract with Fire Protection Services to provide weed abatement for the district.
The service will cost the district little.
A representative of the company observed, “This is a low cost program to the fire district. Those people who don’t pay attention to the notices pay for the program.”
Because the company is controversial— North County Fire Protection District recently dispensed with its services because of complaints— the VC district took its time in proceeding.
Directors closely questioned Dale Kinney, a spokesman for the firm, and Ken Osborn, general manager, about how the El Cajon-based company functions.
Company inspectors drive the streets looking at every property. They can’t enter a property without permission, so they provide notices to owners based on what they can see from the road.
If, after reinspection 45 days later, the hazard is not removed, the company will take the information to the fire marshal, who will decide whether to proceed.
Only after the property owner is given the opportunity to clear the hazard will the company do it for him, and present him with a bill.
Directors satisfied themselves that at no time is the issue forced until the fire marshal says so.
“How many times have you gone and abated a property without any contact with the board?” asked Director Stan Johnson.
“Zero. That will not happen on m watch. Ever,” said Osborn.
Board President Patrick Garcia commented, “Some people here last time seemed to feel that we were going to force the issue without giving any notification.”
Kinney stressed: “During the initial 45 days the property owner is in ‘total control,’ up until the fire marshal determines that they have exhausted all means.
A major cause of disgruntled property owners, he said, is that they don’t read the notices. They include all the abatement instructions, including everything the inspector has looked at.
Director Mel Schuler said he wanted to ensure that property owners get written notices mailed to them, not tacked on a door.
Kinney said that the first notices are mailed. The second notice is sent by registered mail.
Schuler said, “I think the missing link is that when you decide to do it, the property owner has no idea how much you are going to charge.”
Kinney explained that until someone from his company enters the property they won’t know how much will be required.
“Until we are authorized to go onto the property we have no way of giving a pre-price,” he said.
Director Stan Johnson asked, “Say a homeowner receives notice and say that they start action but they haven’t finished by the deadline. Do you just go in and do it even though they have started it, or do you note that they have started it?”
“If we have not had any contact with them I make a package and hand it to the fire marshal,” said Kinney.
Director Mike Pacheco clarified comments made at last month’s meeting, “My intention is that we should make a appeal process accessible; that any complaints are handled well before they come to any board meeting. What I don’t want is these board meetings to turn into shouting matches. I would like your company to work with us to make sure that appeal process is done well before it gets to the board. Those were my comments in the paper that were taken somewhat aback.”
Directors were particularly sensitive that a land owner might get a large bill from Fire Protection Services without knowing ahead of time what it would be, and that they could clear the land themselves or hire someone to do it for much less than the company will charge.
“That’s where the rub is going to come. People generally know what it reasonably costs to cut weeds,” said Schuler.
Some people might let Fire Protection Services do it for them and be shocked by a huge bill.
“To be honest, that could happen,” said Kinney.
His company’s fees are “very high, many times higher than what the property owner could expect to pay if they hired someone else to do the job.”
A notice will instruct the home owner to “clear all annual weeds and trim trees six feet from the ground and around the roof.”
Schuler said he is mainly concerned that property owners who are creating a hazard for their neighbors be cited.
“If you want your property to burn down, I don’t care, but if you are going to let your weeds threaten your neighbors, I do care,” he said.
He added,”I’m not interested in making your company rich. I’m interested in complaints where there is a major issue. We don’t need to focus on every little property.”
Kinney replied that the program must be enforced across the board to avoid favoritism.
Tom Francl, chairman of the Hidden Meadows Fire Safe Council, where Fire Protection Services provides the same weed abatement service, told the board: “If you have a weed abatement ordinance you need to enforce it. I want you to enforce it because we are upwind of you and if VC burns, we burn. The district remains in control. That’s the key. The fire marshal is in control. They aren’t traffic cops going out there giving tickets and collecting fees. The worst possible things you can do is ignore these notices. You need to educate the residents. People must understand that they need to be responsible.”
Immediate enforcement of the weed abatement ordinance will be on a complaint basis until spring, when Fire Protection Services will begin its inspection process.
Fire staff was instructed to begin negotiating with the company and to return with a proposed contract next month.
The Roadrunner will post a copy of the contract on web site as soon as it is available.
This Saturday, Oct. 2, the VC Firefighters Assn. will hold its 12th annual Pancake Breakfast and Safety Expo at Lilac Fire Station to benefit the Burn Institute of San Diego, and the the association.
The expo will include:
• Pancake breakfast, 7 -11 a.m. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for kids, ages 3-11, and under 3, free. Served will be pancakes, eggs, sausage, coffee and orange juice.
Many North County fire and law enforcement agencies are expected to participate.
Visitors will see classic fire engines, and helicopters and learn information about fire extinguishers. They will also see a live cut and rescue demonstration, using the Jaws of Life.
There will be a children’s area where kids can dress up like a firefighter and squirt water. There will also be a bouncing jumper.
Vendors will show their products in various exhibits during the day.
Visitors will be able to tour the fire station, get fire prevention information, and watch as dozens of fire engines drive away on a “Code 3 Engine Run.”
The Burn Institute of San Diego offers many programs throughout the country including a camp program for burn-injured children, a holiday party for burn-injured children, a burn survivor support group, emergency funds, a school re-entry program, and fire prevention education for all ages.
In 1972 the Burn Institute helped establish the regional burn center at the University of California San Diego Medical Center. The Institute continues to provide funding for the burn center.
For breakfast tickets call the VC Firefighters Assn. at 751-7600.
Admission to the event is free.
This is part of a series of interviews with candidates for office in Valley Center.
This week we are focusing on three candidates to fill two seats on the VC Parks & Rec board: Tom Litchfield, Earl Brown and incumbent John Scibilia.
TOM LITCHFIELD
Tom Litchfield brings a background of small business management, tax and financial expertise and 15 years of volunteer service on other community boards of directors. He and his family have lived in Valley Center for 17 years. “I have every intention of remaining here through our retirement,” he says.
Litchfield is coaching soccer at the high school, this year and last year. He is also on the Yes on Prop. CC committee.
Litchfield says that the inspiration for running originated with a call from a couple of current board members.
“I accepted the challenge with a firm belief that Valley Center needs a strong Parks and Recreation department and that I have something to offer to the community,” he told The Roadrunner.
The issues for this election, says Litchfield, is “an absolute lack of space and land that is designated for parks and rec, rather than for general development.
“As we’ve watched the inevitable development in our community we’ve had great concerns about the amount of dedicated open space set aside for parks, sports and recreation. We have 47 acres of P&R managed facilities. For a population of 20,000 we are short some 165 acres of land based on county benchmarks. VC has one of the lowest ratios of park lands to population in the county. It would be a shame for members of our growing community to have to go to Escondido just to have a barbecue, play baseball, compete in soccer or football or to ride their horse.
If elected Litchfield would like to find that land and open space and the way to finance it.
“Other objectives include the active management of our current facilities, upgrades to equipment, and the ongoing financial health of the district.”
Litchfield likes the job the current board is doing. “It is working as best it can with the current assets that it has available.”
JOHN SCIBILIA
John Scibilia has lived in VC for 20 years and served on the parks board for seven years. He is active in VC Optimist Club, Optimist Girls Softball and is a varsity softball coach at the high school.
He is running for another term, he says, “because I want to complete what I started. Buy more property and build more things that the community needs, such as a community center, ballfields, soccer, football.
“When I started on the board nothing had been accomplished at all and since I’ve been on the board we have been able to purchase property next to the community center. We’ve also made numerous offers for property across the street although that hasn’t happened as yet.”
He considers the passage of Prop. CC a major priority.
“Currently we have a hard time balancing our budget every year. Currently we need a new lawn mower but there’s no money to buy it, so we can’t buy it. We need more money to buy property for future parks. The bond gives us the ability to borrow so that we can do this. We currently have 40 acres of parkland when, for a community our size we should have 200. We are about 20 percent of what a community our size should have.”
Purchasing more property will be his main goal is reelected.
“We are running out of large parcels. If we don’t buy more there won’t be any left and we won’t be able to build any parks.”
EARL BROWN
Earl Brown has time on his hands and wants to contribute some of it to the parks district.
A retired businessman, Brown has lived in VC for 17 years. He is a member of the Optimist club and was its president in 1992, the year the club built the gazebo at VC Community Center. He was Honorary Mayor of VC in 1993.
Brown thinks that the parks district “has been doing a very good job and that the people need to know a little more about what’s going on as far as the issues.
“We are a commuter community. Not everyone can come to the meetings.” He wants to pump up enthusiasm among residents by being more informative about where the parks district is going.
Two current board members asked him to run, he says.
Brown agrees with Prop. CC, but says “It’s not going to pass unless people know exactly what park and rec’s financial issues are.We need money for the future, for a community center, for parkland but I think more people would vote for it if they knew what the district’s financial status is.”
Brown favors running a quarterly statement of the park’s finances in the newspaper.
“I would like to review the finances, find out what the count’;s budget is for parks and rec, and make the public more aware of the issues,” he says.
Brown has few disagreements with the board. “I think those guys are doing a great job—but the public needs to know about it.”
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
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