Budget delays cause new hospital wing in T.O. to remain unopened
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

A 90-bed, $180-million new wing at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center sits devoid of patients due to a delay by the state Department of Health, which must inspect the building and give it a required stamp of approval.

"We don't know when they're coming to survey us," said Kris Carraway-Bowman, Los Robles Hospital spokesperson.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 7 celebrated the wing's "opening," but until the state officially approves the 200,000-square-foot hospital addition, a barrier of red tape will keep patients away.

In fact, for last month's ceremony, attended by city officials from Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills, a flag that flew over the state's capital was supposed to be mailed to the hospital from Sacramento. But it didn't make it on time because the state budget hadn't been passed and there was no postage to send it, according to Carraway-Bowman.

"I offered to send them stamps, but somehow they found a way to mail it to us," she said.

The delay in passing the budget caused a backup at the department that approves hospitals, said Carraway-Bowman, and the added wing remains empty.

California's budget was supposed to be ratified by July 1 but was not passed by the Legislature until Aug. 21. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it Aug. 24.

"The delayed state budget affected us like any other state agency. Some things do have to be delayed," California Department of Public Health spokesperson Ken August said.

"We've been able to move-in the nonclinical items, the medical records," Carraway-Bowman said.

But not patients, who'd like to have a nice new room in the hospital CEO Jim Sherman has described as "The Four Seasons of hospitals."

"We're all ready to go. We just need the approval. This is frustrating for everyone," Sherman said.

In July, hospital officials decided to schedule the wing's opening for August to coincide with the temporary closure of St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, where St. John's was closed for mold eradication.

"It turned out we weren't impacted at all by St. John's patients," Carraway-Bowman said.

Patients went to other nearby hospitals; those planning elective surgeries postponed them, she said.

"We're not turning away patients," Carraway-Bowman said. "It's just that we have a building just standing there."

Plans for the wing began seven years ago, groundbreaking took place in July 2004, and construction started that November.

Once the new area is occupied, hospital renovations will begin. The goal is to match the facility's old and new sides, making them appear seamless, Sherman said.