Preparation paid off for Camarillo hosptial
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Oxnard resident Carlos Anaya waited with a handful of people in the quiet emergency room at Camarillo's St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital on Tuesday morning.

Anaya's wife needed an outpatient procedure because St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard has been closed for two weeks.

Despite the closure of one of the largest hospitals in Ventura County, Anaya said the Camarillo ER wasn't busy. His wife was called in right away for her 9:30 appointment.

"They have been doing a pretty good job getting people right in," Anaya, 40, said.

Area hospital administrators said that none of the facilities were inundated with patients since St. John's closed on Aug. 8 for mold fumigation. State regulators are expected to give the 265bed Oxnard hospital the goahead today to reopen.

Jerry Conway, president of St. John's Pleasant Valley, said that they've seen an average of 125 patients a day, about 40 more than usual since the closure. The Camarillo hospital prepared for the increase by opening a second eight-bed intensive care unit and additional outpatient and surgical rooms, he said.

"It's been very rewarding to see our plan work," Conway said. "The patients are very well cared for. They've always been."

To keep their finger on the pulse of area hospitals' needs and availability, administrators and emergency responders met every week and were in daily discussions throughout the closure.

Mike Ellingson, spokesman for Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, said they added more admissions and emergency room doctors to accommodate the 30 to 40 more patients they've seen in the ER and in labor and delivery.

"Everything has been running very smoothly for us," Ellingson said.

But at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, President Jim Sherman said the closure of the Oxnard hospital has had no impact on them.

About 25 miles away from St. John's, the 265-bed Los Robles Hospital prepared for a possible boost in patient load by readying a pool of medical staff, including an extra emergency room physician, Sherman said.

"But the reality is we did not need to bring them in," Sherman said.