Three Los Angeles county supervisors are expected to postpone a
vote on closing Harbor-UCLA Medical Center today.
Supervisors Gloria Molina, Don Knabe and board chair Zev
Yaroslavsky will back a motion to prevent a vote from occurring
until Jan. 21, 2003 ““ giving the county more time to solicit
funding from state and county sources.
The alternative is closing hospitals even after voters approved
a tax increase during November’s elections to keep hospitals
open, because the tax does not provide enough revenue to offset a
$326.6 million budget shortfall in 2003-2004.
“We don’t know what future is now,” said
Avianna Uribe, Molina’s press aide. “It’s hard to
tell without a final decision from the federal government and state
government.”
Molina, Yaroslavsky and Knabe form a majority among the
five-member board, so their motion will pass.
Meanwhile, discussions are progressing with state and federal
authorities to try and gain additional funding, Uribe said.
The supervisors have scheduled a meeting with Gov. Gray Davis to
discuss the county’s health problems, and want him to call a
special session of the legislature for this purpose.
They have also met with Tom Scully, federal administrator for
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to discuss
funding.
“He’s going to be the key guy who helps frame the
Bush administration’s strategy,” said Joel Bellman,
Yaroslavsky’s press aide.
State and federal funding helped the county overcome similar
financial problems in the mid-90s, but that funding was only
provided for a limited time and has run out.
Along with waiting for funding, county supervisors said they may
want to avoid closing hospitals only two weeks after county voters
approved Measure B with 73 percent of the vote.
“It would be political suicide to close any hospitals with
trauma centers right now,” said Jon Musella, Knabe’s
press aide.
The measure provides the county trauma system with $168 million
by increasing property taxes, but this is not enough to prevent
hospital closures, Uribe said.
The county runs Harbor-UCLA and is responsible for its funding,
but UCLA provides some staff.
This gives UCLA’s School of Medicine a way to let students
gain experience working in hospitals.
Harbor-UCLA is one of the county’s 13 trauma centers,
providing the greatest level of emergency care possible for
accident victims.
If additional funds can’t be found, county supervisors
must decide whether to use Measure B revenue to keep Harbor-UCLA
open or to help fund the county’s other trauma centers, such
as the County-USC hospital.
Supervisors will have a better idea of whether the county will
receive additional funding and should be able to decide on cuts in
January, Bellman said.