San Bernardino County officials will analyze within the next six months the feasibility of constructing a county hospital with a trauma center in the High Desert.
It was only one of six recommendations made by the civil Grand Jury in late June in response to a shortage of emergency room beds and hospital overcrowding in this region, but it was the most striking due to the enormity of such an undertaking, likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
In a proposed response to the jury’s report expected to be approved by county Supervisors on Tuesday, the officials, acting in their capacity as the governing board of the Inland Counties Emergency Management Agency, say research is required.
“This recommendation requires further analysis, specifically a discussion involving the various stakeholders on the costs, feasibility and various possible approaches to addressing the concerns upon which the recommendation is based,” the Supervisors’ response said.
The analysis, it continued, will take place within six months of Tuesday, meaning by no later than mid-March.
In a conversation following the Grand Jury report’s release, Supervisors Chairman Robert Lovingood, who represents the Victor Valley, described a county hospital as recommended by the jury, similar to that of Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, as “a priority.”
“I think it’s absolutely on,” he told the Daily Press at the time. “The critical issue is going to be funding. If you look into the future, the desert’s going to continue to grow and (a hospital is) going to be just one of the things to put on the board.”
The need was underscored by jurors, who concluded that the shortage of emergency department beds leads to hospital and ER overcrowding and hospital bed delays — the time between arrival of an ambulance at an ER and the ER receiving the patient. Momentum for such a hospital, however, has been historically slow-moving because of funding considerations.
The Grand Jury’s investigation came on the heels of a series of Daily Press stories in 2015 and earlier this year about chronic issues with bed delays and ambulance response times.
This newspaper’s pieces ultimately highlighted the discord between the San Bernardino County Fire Department’s union and ambulance company American Medical Response in whittling the issue to its core.
Supervisors vowed to further analyze all Jury recommendations and agreed with every finding, suggesting issues that have been raised are being taken seriously.
Supervisors concurred, among other things, that demands on the 911 system were influencing the need for a re-evaluation of the EMS system; bed delays were directly affecting the safety of patients; there is a shortage of ER beds here; and coordination is lacking among the three High Desert hospitals, AMR and County Fire with respect to overcrowding.
Officials also acknowledged that the 911 system was being misused on a regular basis, overloading dispatch and decreasing the availability of ambulances.
“Public education on the proper use of the 911, including alternatives for those who believe they need emergency assistance, is necessary,” Supervisors said in their response, adding that enhanced 911 call screening “is worthy of consideration.”
September 11, 2017
Daily Press
By Shea Johnson
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